The beautiful church thread: please post photos / links to beautiful Catholic churches!

[Lepanto]

Had enough of looking at expensive eyesores on that "other" church architecture thread?



How about we do the good Catholic thing by making reparation, i.e., having a thread on BEAUTIFUL Catholic Churches?


Please post your photos and links here. The church need not be world famous -- heck, it might even be your humble local parish. The cover of The Wanderer newspaper has been doing this for years. Here's a rule of thumb: if the building looks like a cross between a Klingon battlecruiser and a hedgehog, it probably does not belong in this thread.


Here's one to start: the Basilica of St. Josaphat in Milwaukee. Visible for miles around, there's no mistaking it for anything other than a house of God. The interior is truly breathtaking.

http://www.thebasilica.org/photogallery/index.asp

[ibkc]

I love the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, Georgia:

http://savannahcathedral.org/

You can watch videos of the cathedral here: http://savannahcathedral.org/index.php/virtual_tour
and here: http://savannahcathedral.org/index.p...tour/floorplan
you can see a floorplan and click on an item to see a closeup and read about it.

[benedictgal]

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (new) in St. Louis is a masterpiece:

http://cathedralstl.org/site/index.p...ryxl&Itemid=47



It is magnificent!

[benedictgal]

Here is a picture of San Fernando Cathedral, closer to home, in San Antonio.



It is also very beautiful. It also houses the remains of some of the Alamo defenders.

[benedictgal]

Here is another beautiful church in New England, St. Mary's:



This is magnificent.

[ohioszo]

Diocesan-wide Wedding Anniversaries are celebrated every Fall, with a Mass at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral.



http://www.rosarycathedral.org/images/dropshad5z.jpg

http://www.rosarycathedral.org/vtourstart.asp

[benedictgal]

This is one of my favorite little churches to visit when I am in San Antonio:



When I attended a tourism conference, I went to daily Mass there. The only caveat is that they took out the communion rails. It is still a sight to behold, though.

[masondoggy]

http://www.virtualakron.com/stbernards/index.php?vr=2

This is a very beautiful parish in downtown Akron. I attend here often because they have an 8 PM Mass on Sundays....so when life happens it's there, lol.....

My sister was married in this church.

And it is so distracting sometimes in Mass because there is SO MUCH to look at!

[First of 9]

Check out the blog "Rome of the West" for bunches of churches in the St. Louis area.

[Walking_Home]

Originally Posted by benedictgal

This is one of my favorite little churches to visit when I am in San Antonio:



When I attended a tourism conference, I went to daily Mass there. The only caveat is that they took out the communion rails. It is still a sight to behold, though.

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Which church is this in SA --benedictgal. It is wonder to behold.

[Cobbfmly]

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament - Sacramento, CA

[JPUSC]

Here's the new Divine Mercy Shrine in the Philippines. In the Heart of Jesus where the rays are emanating from, is a chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. The rays are stairs leading to the chapel. The structure on the bottom of the statue is another chapel. Isn't it beautiful?





Here's the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Lewiston, New York. The Basilica is shaped like the world and Our Lady is standing on the top.






Shrine of Our Lady of Veilankanni in India







Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes, France

[JPUSC]

Here's a modern church in the Archdiocese of Rome that I actually think looks nice. Sure, it's a little plain, but it is aesthetically pleasing.




Cathedral of Brasilia in Brazil looks amazing.



Milan Cathedral is majestic.



Below is a Lutheran Church in Iceland, but I thought it looked unique enough to post. As for whether or not it's beautiful, I'm still undecided.

[Cat]

Here is a link to the website of the church where I play piano:

http://www.stanthonyrockford.com/par...suals_xmas.asp

I linked you to the Christmas decor of the church, but please feel free to look around the website and enjoy yourself! This is a beautiful church building and a beautiful parish that is celebrating one hundred years, and I love it very much!

[Pax_Vobiscum_57]

When we went to Montreal some years back, we went to Mass twice daily. Never at the same parish. It was breathtaking.

Here's the interior of Notre Dame in Montreal: