Saint Adalbert is a massive church in South Bend, Indiana, second only to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame just a few miles north of South Bend. This is one of four Polish parishes in South Bend. After the dissolution of Poland in 1772, mass immigration began to take place of Poles to the United States. the main locations where the immigrants settled were the Rust Belt. Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh are the major locations that come to mind. Chicago is one of largest locations of Polish settling, has over a dozen polish parishes still operating, not including those that have closed. In South Bend the largest employer, the automotive builder Studebaker, for a time used to finance for the immigrations of Polish families. Because of this four polish parishes were established in South Bend not including a Polish National church. Polish National Catholic Churches are in schism with Rome, but claim to be Catholic regardless.
Known as the cathedral of the east side, this almost was the fate of this church. In 1960, the Diocese of Fort Wayne was changed to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. In addition to the name change, a co-cathedral was added. This church was one of the top candidates for the location, but in the end it was given to the modern and significantly less ornate Saint Matthew's. Regardless of the status of the church, it is a landmark for South Bend; visible for many miles around, even from the highway bypassing the city, several miles away.
On the left is the parochial school. If the school looks like a church, that's because it was. The church was originally on the first floor, and the school on the other two floors. It's a definite cost cutting measure and practical as well. Then, once the main church was built in the 1920's, the old church was converted into more classrooms. While the church used to be solely Polish, it is now almost solely Latino.
This angle shows how absolutely massive this church is. One can expect a church like this in Chicago, Detroit, or Buffalo, but for a regional town this is rare. The campus on which this parish stands was, and still is, one of the largest in the diocese. This church is obviously the heart of the parish. To the right of the church, and of the photo is the three story school building, the former combination building.
The aforementioned combination building. If the windows seem like they do not fit, then your observation is correct. They were most likely originally different, changed during a renovation, and then left in the remaining gaps in the windows are red painted wood to match the bricks. Unfortunately this decision is very tacky as it highlights that the windows are a different style and that the renovators themselves were too cheap to make the windows fit properly. Also the fact that the entire rear wall is the same color as the wood, and devoid of any windows hints that either the structure used to be attached to another building.
This photo shows more of how vast the campus is for a parish. To the left is a two story convent building. Nowadays the parish office, the building was built during the late 50's and on the end was a chapel. (The windows running up and down the side.) To the right of the convent was a boiler room to heat all of the buildings. In the foreground is a three car garage for the rectory, which is directly to the right.
The rectory for the church is absolutely massive. Three stories tall, with capacity for easily a dozen priests or more, this church was once a powerhouse in the diocese. The interior architecture of that structure itself could be its own blog post. Nowadays it only serves one or two priests. This church has definitely seen a decline in the latter part of the 20th century, but in recent years this church has been on the uptick. The school went from under 80 students to over 130. While nowhere near the numbers it once was, the can be attributed to the slow revitalization of the west side of South Bend. What was once a predominantly a decrepit African-American neighborhood is now slowly transitioning to a middle/lower class Latino ethnicity.
The stained glass in the narthex was abnormally vibrant with it's stained glass window. It appeared to be neon rather than just colored panes of glass. It's also visually pleasing to see the patterns in the glass match the woodwork directly above. This proves that both the glass and woodwork are both originals, as older structures built before the 40's place a high emphasis on architectural continuity. This effect is why I think that so many people like gothic churches. It's not just the size, but one isn't seeing four different styles competing for one's attention, it is all one style that presents the same beauty and theme.
This is another view of the the narthex. The church is to the right, and outside is to the left. Straight ahead is a set of double doors. Most likely the baptistry was through the doors originally. Now the font sits in the sanctuary. Note the statue in the archway to the right; a clever way to insert a shrine to a saint without having to have the exterior woodwork needed for the side shrine.
In many large churches, especially gothic ones, there is a "woah" effect of walking into a space so utterly different than the outside. The eyes take a second to adjust to the light, there are so many small details that the eyes cannot decide what to focus on, but the legs keep moving forward drawing the person toward the altar. It's excellent theology showing how our churches are meant to reflect the beauty of Heaven.
The sanctuary was absolutely stunning from about 5 feet up. The six frescoes surrounding the altar are incredibly rare to find in a regional city. This level of detail and beauty is only found in a large city such as Chicago or Pittsburgh, but very rarely in smaller towns. The fresco to the direct left of the altar is Saint Dominic receiving the first Rosary from the Blessed Mother. I do not know who the saint directly to the right of the altar is, but I assume it to be Saint Stephen of Hungary. If my memory serves correctly, Saint Stephen is the only Hungarian royalty to be canonized, but Stephen gave up the crown (that is being held by an angel,) to serve the church. The fact that the saint stands at an altar is a symbol of the saint giving their life to serve the church, but they do not wear clerical garb, thus it is reasonable to assume they are not a priest. (Stephen was not.) The other four frescoes are described in more detail later. The only change to the high altar has been removing of the altar itself. What remains is the rest of the reredos which have been spared. The Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help sits in the center while flanked by Saint Adalbert on the right and Saint John the Evangelist on the left. The stained glass was too far for me to decipher.
This is one of the large transept windows near the sanctuary. Jesus stands out very clearly in the midst of the many intricate details. This is for several reasons: primarily the fact that Jesus is in the center, just as He should be in the center of our lives. The other tactic used to distinguish Christ is the colors. There is almost no other red or gold anywhere else in the window, and when there is it doesn't match the vibrancy of Christ. Even the Blessed Mother behind Him, telling Jesus of the lack of wine; her blue is not matched anywhere else, even though blue is a predominant color of the window. Another interesting feature of this window is the heavy accents of green in the window. The shrubbery, clothes of the servant to the left, and the leaves surrounding the artistry of the scene, give the window heavy green accents. This is no accident or coincidence. Normally windows of this era, (!900-1930) use heavy blues to make scenes vibrant, and blue is used heavily. The green however breaks up the blue, and this is necessary as the church interior is already heavily blue and having blue windows as well would make the interior overbearing and detracting of its beauty. Having the green subtly counteracting the blue is such a small change, but helps the eyes greatly.
The side altar of Saint Joseph. Normally I'm a staunch naysayer of changes to churches after the 70's, but this is one that actually makes sense. The oils are no longer hidden in a secure location in the church. (The can only be obtained during the Chrism Mass of Holy Week.) To prevent the loss of such oils, they were usually kept in a secure location, but the Second Vatican Council had the idea of making them visible to the laity to help them understand and see the role that the oils place. The side altars of churches used to have tabernacles as well, and when the Second Vatican Council put an end to that practice, this space was perfect for the oils. The only change is a glass door for viewing of the faithful. Unfortunately no Masses are said on the altar, as the votive candle stand is placed almost as a preventative measure.
One thing that surprised me about this church was the sheer number of statues. There could be a blog about this church in and of itself. This photo is in the sanctuary and represents two formerly popular saints in the Church. (Formerly as they used to be mentioned by name in the Confiteor and Eucharistic Prayer) Saints Peter and Paul. Peter on the right with the keys, and Paul on the left with the sword, and paper as he wrote by far the most epistles to the early church.
The two frescoes to the left. I'm not sure of the Saint, but there are several hints. The person on the left is dressed as a Dominican while the person on the right is wearing what could be an Augustinian habit. The angel hovering above the two seems to be about to, or is, interacting with them. Although I cannot be sure it looks like the corner to the lower right of the painting. The fresco on the right is of the Immaculate Conception. It's an unusual depiction of Our Lady as she is not wearing a veil. Nevertheless it's a rendition of a painting by Bartolome Esteban Murillo.
The Saint on the left took quite a while to decipher but it is in fact, Saint Ethelreda. Her story is quite unusual for saints as two of her sisters founded abbeys and were declared Saints by the Church. She was the daughter of Anglican king in the 600's and her three sisters were nuns but, she was married and even then she made her husbands (she was married twice due to the death of the first husband) respect her vow of perpetual virginity she had made. In her second marriage, her husband very nearly broke her vow forcibly, despite having been told not to be the local bishop. Ethelreda fled for her life to an island she had received in the dowry of her first husband. After evading capture she founded a double monastery that lasted until the late 800's. This can be seen in the imagery of the fresco. She wears a crown as she is the daughter of the king and an abbess and in her hand she holds a church, The monetary she founded. The Saint on the right is Saint John Cantius. Made famous by the revitalized church in Chicago of the same name, this is a famous painting of the saint in front of the Krakow Cathedral. Saint John Cantius was a priest and an educator at the University of Krakow and a avid supporter of the poor. He was notorious for being seen barefoot for having given his shoes away almost directly after leaving his home. The fresco also shows the saint putting a jar full back together. The story goes that a woman was bringing a jar of milk, (an expensive commodity at the time) back to her home when she tripped and the jar shattered. Devastated by the waste, the woman burst into tears when the priest approached her and put the jar back together. She was shocked not only to find the jar intact, but to find it full of milk again. These frescoes seem to be quite dull in color. Photos of the church in an older state show the paintings with much more vibrant color but a restoration would likely bring them to life.
The side altar of Our Lady. The statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the left shows the present day ethnicity of the church. The woodwork of the altar itself uses a clever trick. In the spires surrounding the statue it seems to be very three dimensional when in reality the wood is very flat. The white of the back wall interacting with the blue of the wood helps to create this effect.
Just to the left of the side altar was the baptismal font. This font is likely nor original to the church as is uses marble and brass, something found nowhere else in the church. It also likely used to reside in the rear of the church as the original rite of baptism used to incorporate the use of physically walking into the church as part of the rite.
A fresco on the side wall of the Holy Family. Directly below the painting is a niche in the wall where the confessionals used to be.
This photo helps to illustrate the enormity of the church. There was a necessity for two choir lofts. One for the choir and one for the organ. The great travesty was that this organ was not even played during Mass, instead a simple little keyboard with artificial organ sounds was used. The massive instrument sits high in the church yet rarely makes any sound.
Over each of the arches was this lovely depiction of the angels with the Blessed Sacrament. It is interesting to see so many angels in a church's design, but it helps reinforce the fact that there a multitude of angels in Heaven at the right hand of God. In the window the saint to the left is Veronica holding the veil of Our Lord. I couldn't see up to the right.
Stained glass of the Holy family. The detail in the window is very specific, like a German made window.
The Stations of the Cross were originally marked in Polish and the English was added later.
A fresco showing the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan. The confessional below is not original. It's interesting because I suspected the original baptistry to be right behind the wall where the fresco sits. It would make prefect sense for there to have been a door or archway behind the confessional and underneath the fresco for the newly baptized soul to enter the church. The water damage one the arch highlight the biggest thing this church could use. The carpet is littered with stains, many of the angels on the walls have peeling facial features, and there are numerous water damage spots on the ceiling. An expensive, but necessary renovation is badly needed. Unfortunately the church is in no position to have that done currently as they are one million dollars in debt. (This isn't private information as I found this out simply by attending Mass where it was announced from the pulpit). Thus the renewal of the neighborhood cannot come sooner as this church is becoming more in need a renovation every day.
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