Saying yes to the noosphere

David Roach reviewed American Catholics and the Church of Tomorrow, by Catherine Osborne, at the Society for US Intellectual History.

"So when translations of the French Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin began to appear in 1959, modernists found a theological touchstone they had long lacked. Particularly attractive was his idea that the world was progressing from biosphere to noosphere, a period, to quote Osborne, 'where thinking human beings would develop a unified network of thought and spirit' (120). Modernists understood themselves as contributing to an increasingly connected and extended 'network of thought and spirit' when they sketched plans for ecumenical submarines and lunar chapels—and when they augmented religious experience with drugs."

The past & future of Notre-Dame

Peter Pennoyer "On the preservation and reconstruction of the cathedral of Notre-Dame" at The New Criterion.

Urban spelunking: Church of the Gesu

According to Marquette's William O'Brien, who as a student wrote a thesis on architect Henry C. Koch, Church of the Gesu, 1145 W. Wisconsin Ave., which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, is "A Gothic church of French derivation ... purportedly modeled on the Cathedral of Chartes."

That makes it a perfect companion to the lovely St. Joan of Arc chapel – itself considered a beautiful example of pure Gothic architecture –which sits about a block west on the Marquette University campus.

continue at OnMilwaukee

Has anyone seen photos of the original sanctuary?  I think I looked around at one point but couldn't find any.

Archbishop Hebda to dedicate new altar in Excelsior MN

EXCELSIOR — Archbishop Bernard Hebda will dedicate the new altar at St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish in Excelsior this Sunday.

Hebda will celebrate Mass and dedicate the altar at 2 p.m. on Feb. 17. The Mass marks the completion of stage one of St. John’s Walking Forward in Faith Capital Campaign, which included a renovation of the church that was completed in December 2018.

continue at LakeshoreWeeklyNews

A fitting town name. 

Must-See Churches in Milwaukee

There are many beautiful Catholic churches in Milwaukee, but if I had to make a Top Ten list, I’d go with the following. With a few of these, you’ll have to overlook some unfortunate “renovations” which seriously damaged the original integrity of the interior (see Saint Casimir). But thankfully, much of the splendor of the original buildings remains. Follow the link to learn more about each church’s history and view more photos.

continue at Cream City Catholic

St. John's Abbey, Collegeville, MN; Before and after

‘Very delicate, time-consuming:’ Iconic crosses, domes on Milwaukee south side church removed for restoration

MILWAUKEE -- After five years of fundraising and planning, the process of removing the iconic crosses and domes at St. Stanislaus Church for restoration began Wednesday, Dec. 5.

"They were copper in 1872, and then in 1962, they made them aluminum and put gold leaf on them," said Jeff Keller, foreman.

The project was made possible by donors.

continue at Fox 6

Steeples without crosses look...strange. The smaller domes & crosses that rest atop these steeples at Saint Stanislaus were removed. Will be given a new copper cover. Should be back up in a few months. Can't get used to this sight. pic.twitter.com/YylPHmiWnk

— Cream City Catholic (@CCityCatholic) December 9, 2018

St. Dennis in Madison gets new sanctuary

Starting the project

The ideas for the project began with Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison’s recent request that all churches in the Diocese of Madison place the tabernacle in the center of the church’s sanctuary by October of this year.

The tabernacle at St. Dennis has been located in a side chapel since the church was built in 1983.

The project grew when it was determined that in order for the altar to be centered, the sanctuary must be redesigned.

The other major portions of the project such as redesigning restrooms and doorways to comply with handicap access codes, new lighting, and parking lot improvements have been on the parish’s needs list for quite some time.

St. Dennis wanted to do as many of the improvements as they could at one time to have more efficiency in fundraising and building and grounds work.

more at MadCatHerald

Return to St. Thomas

A poem by James Matthew Wilson at First Things.

A Sneak Peak Inside UW St. Paul's in Madison

T H Stemper

Fantastic!

Sts. Peter and Paul church, Milwaukee WI

full post at Cream City Catholic

Explore Chicago’s “Polish Cathedrals” Jan 26th

Christmas in Boyd

Milwaukee Archdiocese likes the rural La Crosse parishes, and we do to!  If you have photos of your parishes decked out for Christmas send them in and I'll do a photopost next week.

HT Colter

St. Patrick's Oratory, Green Bay, WI

We had gone to the Oratory in Green Bay, oohhh, what two months ago?  As you can see I'm really on the ball with the posts these days.  It was the Giants game, which they won(! right before all that losing started), and yes, in fact I did take my wife to a Packers game for her birthday and we had a marvelous time darlings!

St. Patrick's is definitely an improvement from the previous chapel at the diocesan center.  I had come down with a pretty good cold so could not belt out singing from the pews.  Adoration and Benediction was immediately after Mass, a very nice touch.  I wonder how a step like this could vastly improve the spirituality of an Ordinary Form parish, especially if it were during one of the liturgical seasons.  It's really nice to have the Institute here in Green Bay as an option, especially considering how many visitors are in the area both for a certain NFL team but also for the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help(yes traditionalists also have a devotion to the BVM).  Other than the Cathedral, I'm under the impressions there's not a whole lot of options for the JPII generation in the Fox Valley area although we have had comments on this blog about St. Pius X parish in Appleton improving.  But yes, an excellent Mass, lots of altar boys, unfortunately without posting this more timely my memory fades to recall any other details.  At least we have some photos to share though.

Our Lady Guadalupe Catholic Church, Milwaukee, WI

Mid 19th Century architecture, an old German parish, Milwaukee's Mother Hispanic parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe (formerly Holy Trinity) parish has plenty of designations. Over 150 years after its founding, it is still as important for its community as it was at the start.

[NB] Special VIP Offerings:
- Beer! Beer! Beer! Not many church tours come with free alcohol! Use the coupon attached to the VIP Event Guide to get a free tour at nearby Brenner Brewing at 3 p.m., exclusive to VIP attendees.

continue at Roamin' Catholic Churches

Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Milwaukee, WI

Immaculate Conception Catholic Parish is an institution in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood. The church building, while over a century old, has adapted over time with numerous renovations and looks fantastic today. Being a well-established parish, Immaculate Conception has generated its own history and traditions that cement its meaning locally and for the Archdiocese as a Very Important Parish.

continue at Roamin' Catholic Churches

James at CCC on altar placements in Milwaukee churches

The elegant beauty of most of Milwaukee’s historic Catholic churches has been captured in our gallery page. Stepping inside these sacred buildings is always a moving experience. Many were built by immigrants from Poland or Germany. These churches represent some of the city’s most impressive architectural heritage. Preservation of these local treasures should be a concern of everyone in Milwaukee. As so many popular restoration shows on television highlight, the preservation of historic homes and other buildings is the “in” thing to do. In addition to structural upkeep, a significant part of any restoration movement involves the peeling back of inconsistent and dated accretions that were added over the years. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that anyone would think concealing rich hardwood floors with green carpeting, for example, would be a good thing to do. But it was done, over and over again, in house after house. Maybe you’ve done some work in your old home and discovered something beautiful that was concealed for decades beneath layers of paint or carpeting.

continue at Cream City Catholic

A good post.  I've noted that here in La Crosse it's not just a Catholic problem, there's a general disregard for tradition - even the lower case t kind.  We've seen lots of these cases, I remember when I was digging through archives a bit more the egregious case of  St. Mary's of the Lake Catholic Church in Westport, WI.  It's good that we continue to recognize these poor decisions and the erroneous theology behind them.

A Look Inside the New St. Cecilia Catholic Church, Wisconsin Dells

Colter has posted his visit, go check out the new digs!

continue at Roamin' Catholic Churches

The one quirk is the musicians up next to the sanctuary, perhaps a loft for choir was out of the price range.  Still, a modern church done well, who'd a thunk it!

Doors Open Milwaukee Shares 10+ Catholic Sites to the Public, September 17 & 18

It's that time of the year again...time for Doors Open Milwaukee! I'm cramming on other projects right now, along with making my plans to attend both days of Doors Open. To be brief, below is a list of the eleven Catholic sites that I am aware will be open beyond regular Mass times this weekend. The links will take you to an information page on each site, including the hours that each of them will be open this weekend.

Head to Roamin Catholic Churches to see the list of sites

Cream City visits Old Saint Anthony's in Milwaukee

continue at Cream City Catholic