Sacra Liturgia San Francisco: June 28 - July 1

This year’s Sacra Liturgia conference, sponsored by His Excellency Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, will take place in his episcopal city of San Francisco from June 28 to July 1; registrations are now open via the conference website: https://www.sacraliturgiasf.com/

The Sacra Liturgia conference, founded by Dom Alcuin Reid, is an internationally recognized center of intellectual excellence in liturgical scholarship. Beautiful Masses are celebrated with excellent choirs so Catholics can experience the power of the Eucharist in a new way. The conference will take place from June 28 to July 1 at St Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, close to Stanford University. Among this year’s roster of speakers features Cardinal Robert Sarah, Cardinal George Pell, Bishop Steven Lopes, Dom Alcuin Reid, Father Joseph Fessio, Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, Msgr. Gerard O’Connor, Duncan Stroik and more. Renowned choral conductor Martin Baker, past president of the British Royal College of Organists and until recently Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral, will conduct singers from the Sacred Music Project in a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Pell. The final Mass will feature new music by Frank La Rocca, composed in honor of St Junipero Serra (Missa Sancti Juniperi Serra), and be celebrated by the conference host, Abp Cordileone, on St Junipero’s feast day, July 1, at the historic Mission Dolores which the Saint founded in 1776. Richard Sparks will conduct the Benedict Sixteen Choir and Orchestra.

The conference schedule can be found here: https://www.sacraliturgiasf.com/schedule

Options before and after the conference include: an tour of beautiful churches of San Francisco, available on the afternoon of the 28th; a reception with Kansas City Chief kicker Harrison Butker after the final Mass; a sacred music concert conducted by Martin Baker featuring the works of living Catholic composers. Ticket holders will be emailed information about these before and after events. Accommodation should be booked separately.

Renovation of Kalamazoo Cathedral by Duncan Stroik

On Gaudete Sunday, His Excellency Paul Bradley, Bishop of Kalamazoo, Michigan, celebrated the Mass for the re-dedication of the cathedral of St Augustine, in which architect Duncan Stroik has just completely the first phase of a major renovation. Bp Earl Boyea of Lansing, Abp Allen Vigneron of Detroit, and two Detroit auxiliary bishops were also present for the ceremony. (All photos courtesy of these are by Duncan G. Stroik Architect.)

The main sanctuary after the new restoration...

...and before.

The church was built as a parish of the diocese of Grand Rapids by the office of Ralph Adams Cram and completed in 1951; when Kalamazoo became a diocese in 1971, St Augustine was chosen as its cathedral. A renovation in 1989 altered the sanctuary and dismantled the high altar, using pieces of its broccatello marble as a backdrop for the cathedra (on the center axis of the sanctuary), and as a pedestal for the tabernacle, which was moved to a side chapel. This most recent renovation, initiated by Bishop Bradley and Monsignor Michael Osborn, Vicar General of the Diocese, has restored the tabernacle to the center of the sanctuary, and aimed to make St Augustine a worthy cathedral. Major plaster repair was also addressed, including completely rebuilding the framing, lath, and plaster of the back wall of the sanctuary. Pieces of the original high altar were put back into place, and a new baldacchino, altar of sacrifice, ambo, cathedra, and sanctuary floor were installed. Side altars with Mary and St. Joseph were also restored. A new decorative paint pattern on the sanctuary walls and ceiling and new pews in the nave complete the first phase. Here are several photos of the rededication ceremony, and below, details of the newly renovated parts of the church.

The relic stone is place in the altar.

The mensa is anointed with chrism.

The anointing of the walls

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The Restoration and Dedication of St Catherine Parish in Trumbull, CT

St Catherine of Siena Parish in Trumbull, Connecticut, recently completed a restoration, in which the sanctuary was redesigned, a new altar of sacrifice was created, and the tabernacle was relocated to the center of the church. Last month, we posted photographs of the deposition of relics, which was done preparatory to the dedication ceremony; the church was built in 1958, and blessed for liturgical use, but somehow, never consecrated, even after its mortgage was retired. The Mass of Dedication and consecration of the church were celebrated on Sunday, March 24, by the Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano, Bishop of Bridgeport, a tangible manifestation that Christ is alive and working in the Church, even during the most difficult of times. The architect for this project was Duncan Stroik, who was present for the celebration. Our congratulations to him, and to the pastor, Fr Joseph Marcello, on the success of this much needed and beautifully done restoration.

St Catherine before the restoration...

and after.

The tabernacle has been moved from a side chapel to the center of the sanctuary, which has been graced with statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Joseph, the patron Saint, Catherine of Siena, St John Vianney, the patron saint of priests.

The main altar contains a first class relic of St Catherine, an actual piece of bone taken from her body. A magnificent new retable fills sanctuary wall, modeled on the altar which contains the icon of Our Lady Salus Populi Romani at the basilica of St Mary Major in Rome. Several existing elements in the church have been repurposed, including the corpus of the crucifix; the dove of the Holy Spirit, which hung above the door of the narthex, has been relocated into the sanctuary, where it was in the church’s original design. The main altar contains a first class relic of St Catherine, an actual piece of bone taken from her body. (Last month, we published some pictures of the deposition of the relics in the altar, preparatory to the dedication.)

The side chapel is now a Memorial Chapel of prayer for the faithful departed; the church’s former altar has been relocated there, where it fits perfectly. Above the altar is a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, newly restored, which was given to the parish at its founding. The chapel contains a memorial book with the name of every person whose funeral has been celebrated at St Catherine’s since its founding in 1955; it also houses a beautiful mosaic of Our Lady, and which hangs as a memorial to children who have died before their birth.

Here are some photographs of the consecration service; some of the highlights are also presented in a video which you can watch here.

The lustrations of the various parts of the church. 

 The relic of St Catherine is placed in the main altar.

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The Dedication of Holy Cross Chapel at Jesuit High School in Tampa

This past Tuesday, His Excellency Michael Barber S.J., Bishop of Oakland, California, dedicated a new chapel for Jesuit High School in Tampa Bay, Florida. The school’s president, Fr Richard Hermes, S.J., chose August 7th as the date of the dedication because it was the 204th anniversary of the restoration of the Society of Jesus after a 41-year suppression. He and Bishop Barber spoke of the chapel as an instrument of the restoration of souls to the mercy of God, and a restoration of the Society of Jesus in America as great patrons of art and architecture. The new building was designed by architect Duncan Stroik, and replaces a previous chapel built in the early 60s, (shown below); I am sure our readers will agree that the new one is vast improvement.

The new church’s façade. (Courtesy of Jesuit High School of Tampa)

Statue of St Ignatius of Loyola by Cody Swanson, who also did the Stations of the Cross inside. (Courtesy of Duncan Stroik)

The high altar; here the bishop is kneeling before placing the relics of Saints into the altar during the dedication ceremony. The paintings over the several altars are by Raul Berzosa. (Courtesy of Duncan Stroik)

The dedication booklet also contains Fr Hermes’ statement of vision and description of the chapel. “The new chapel, named in honor of the Holy Cross, draws from the spirit that animated the origin of the Society of Jesus. In the Formula of the Institute, the founding document of the Jesuit Order (1540), St Ignatius refers to those wishing to be members of this new Order as soldiers of God ‘under the banner of the cross’, serving the Lord alone and the Church, his spouse, under the Roman Pontiff. Thus, St Ignatius puts the whole Jesuit mission under the standard of the cross. These words from the Formula can be seen inscribed on the statue of St Ignatius that adorns the façade of Holy Cross Chapel. In addition, the central interior image that confronts the visitor to our new chapel, the painting placed above the high altar, is the famous image of St. Ignatius’s vision at La Storta. In this vision, St. Ignatius is placed by God the Father beneath Christ who carries the cross. From that moment, St. Ignatius knows that he and his companions will be linked intimately in name and mission with the Lord Jesus and His holy cross.

The altar of St Isaac Jogues. (Courtesy of Duncan Stroik)

The altar of St Paul Miki. (Courtesy of Duncan Stroik)

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Sacred Arts Conference in Chicago

This October 29th, the Catholic Art Guild, a Chicago-based community of artists, will host a landmark conference bringing together leading philosophers and artists to rediscover the power of Beauty in the modern world.

The conference, entitled “Beauty and the Restoration of the Sacred”, will feature English philosopher Sir Roger Scruton, well-known for his BBC documentary “Why Beauty Matters,” as well as architect Duncan Stroik, classical artist Anthony Visco, and art historian and educator Denis McNamara.

The ground-breaking conference opens with a Solemn High Mass featuring Renaissance choral music in the baroque splendor of Chicago’s historic St. John Cantius Church, a parish well known for bringing beauty into Christian worship.

Conference presentations and discussions will take place at the The Drake Hotel, followed by an elegant banquet, wine service, culminating in a stimulating panel discussion.

“Beauty has been so denigrated in today’s culture as a result of prevalent utilitarian thinking. This unfortunately relegates those with artistic gifts to the periphery or worse, tells them their gifts are useless,” says organizer and guild President Kathleen Carr, “We hope this conference will shine a light on the necessity of Beauty in today’s world.”

All visual artists, designers, architects, art educators, and art lovers are welcome to attend. Tickets and more information can be found at www.CatholicArtGuild.org

Duncan Stroik Wins the Arthur Ross Award for Classical Architecture

NLM has covered the work of classical architect Duncan Stroik on several occasions, and we are happy to offer him him our congratulations for winning the Arthur Ross Award.

The Arthur Ross Award is the oldest award for classical architecture in the United States. It “recognizes and celebrates excellence in the classical tradition.” This year, Duncan Stroik, practicing architect and professor at the University of Notre Dame, received the Arthur Ross Award in McKim, Mead & White’s historic University Club in New York City.

Stroik received his architectural education from the University of Virginia and Yale University. In 1990, after serving as a project designer for Allan Greenberg, he was invited to help implement a new curriculum in classical architecture at the University of Notre Dame. His work utilizes hand drawing, full-scale details, and watercolor renderings, as well as close collaboration with painters, sculptors, and other craftsmen. Learning from the great tradition has led him to visit and study buildings in situ throughout Europe, including the opportunity to measure the work of Andrea Palladio in the Veneto.

Stroik’s Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel in California was the first classical chapel to be built on a college campus in sixty years. His Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin, is the grandest classical church built in decades. He is also known for the “creative restoration” of Saint Joseph Cathedral in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which brought back the glory the cathedral never had. Presently, Stroik is working on a $28 million, 1300-seat chapel complete with a masonry dome, interior limestone columns, and two world-class organs for a college in Michigan.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel at Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California. 

The New York Times called Stroik a “Young Old Fogey” in 1994. The Wall Street Journal has said that, “Stroik has labored long and hard to reconnect Catholic artistic patronage with its ancient heritage.”

Stroik’s efforts to bring beauty back to churches led to the founding of the Institute for Sacred Architecture and its journal, Sacred Architecture. He is the author of The Church Building as a Sacred Place: Beauty, Transcendence and the Eternal. His work is animated by the conviction that beautiful and durable architecture ennobles mankind and honors the Creator.