A reader sent me a link to St. Ann’s Cathedral in Great Falls, Montana. This church was recently renovated and it is a true renovation. The last time the church was renovated they covered up some of the stained glass windows, which have now been restored.
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On my way to Alaska from Washington DC, I stopped at this cathedral. It was so beautiful. Perhaps my favorite in the United States now.
Thanks for the tag. The movie meme is up here http://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2007/05/movie-meme-can-you-guess-titles-to.html
Wow, a Church that actually still looks like a Church after a renovation! Che Miracolo!!!!!
I’m not 100% sure about the Baptismal/Holy Water(?) font. But I love the comments with the stained glass windows & Stations of the Cross, esp in these days of avoiding a corpus on the Cross.
Er, where is the high altar? The little side altar (St Joseph?) shows what it may once have looked like. In its present state the sanctuary is bleak and lacks focus, “peoples’ table” notwithstanding, and the tabernacle (which is at least central) looks like a stranded spaceship. Even if financial or aesthetic considerations precluded a faithful restoration, something should have been done to give the sanctuary more presence. This is not a true renovation, but yet another missed opportunity. Believe me, this is not a “traddie rant”, it’s said with a heavy heart.
It looks like a traditional style of tabernacle to me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Still, this Cathedral doesn’t hold a candle to the Cathedral of St. Helena in the neighboring diocese of Helena, MT. Go to http://www.sthelenas.org/history/online-tour.htm
We went to Mass in Great Falls two years ago here, because the time worked out on our drive across Montana, and were absolutely amazed. Particularly by the fact that the renovations actually restored the church from the wear and tear of years of use, not changed everything about. I hope we’ll get a chance to go there again to see the windows that were still boarded up when we were there.
Patrick, I am assuming that prior to “wreckovation” in the sixties, this tabernacle would have stood above an altar before a reredos (a grander version of the side altar shown). It currently stands on a little stone table against a bare wall. It is that bare back wall and lack of high altar which is the fundamental problem. I have seen Methodist chapels with more sense of presence.