A Wreckovated Church Gets Un-wrecked

New Liturgical Movement ^ | January 22, 2014 | GREGORY DIPIPPO

[NYer]

The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, has begun the process of undoing the comically awful wreckovation to which it was subjected in 1980. Built and consecrated in 1878, the church’s original sanctuary looked like this. (Photographs from the parish's facebook page.) The first shows the original altar during a wedding, the second gives a better idea of the paintings on the back wall behind it.

It was changed to look like this.

No one will be surprised to hear that the comments on the facebook page linked above are overwhelming positive in favor of the proposed restoration. The administrator of Holy Name, Fr. Jim Cunningham, notes in the video below that the new arrangement of seven large… things sticking out of the floor reminded a lot of people of the transporter room on the USS Enterprise. (They were supposed, somehow, to represent the Seven Sacraments.) Towards the end of the video, he bravely demonstrates for the viewer the shabbiness of modern building materials.

Wreckovated Church - Video

Fr. Cunningham explains here that the Diocese of Brooklyn has donated to Holy Name an altar designed by the famous architect James Renwick, Jr. It was originally intended for St. Patrick’s Cathedral, but proved to be too large, and was therefore installed in St. Vincent de Paul, a recently closed parish in the Williamsburg neighborhood.

Restoration of Holy Name Jesus Church - Video

Here is the proposal for the completed restoration of the sanctuary, which is being done by Connecticut-based Baker Liturgical Art.

And here is the proposal for the back of the church and the organ loft.

The parish’s website has extensive documentation of the project, which will also see the renovation of several other parts of the church, including the baptismal font and the stained-glass windows. It has also been covered by the N.Y. Daily News. Congratulations to Fr. Cunningham, to all of the parish staff, and to His Excellency Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, for undertaking this beautiful and much-needed restoration. And likewise, kudos to the faithful who have superabundantly provided the funds needed to restore their church!

If you are undertaking a similar project of de-wreckovating a church, NLM will be happy to write about it. Send pictures, articles, links etc. to my email address, linked above on my picture.

[informavoracious]

Also known as a “none.”

[Gumdrop]

But your answer does not explain why the Satanists are so very determined to desecrate the consecrated host in a RC church. If it is “just a bag of croutons”. why do they care? That’s the part that is puzzling to me ab0ut Satanists. They want to destroy the host that has been consecrated.

[Gumdrop]

OK. I will respond to you the same way I responded to the previous comment comparing it to “croutons”.

If the RC consecratedhost is only a wafer or only a crouton. my question remains the same - that is why Satanists hate it so much that they try to desecrate it and destroy it.

[Coleus]

Anybody been in this Church?

[informavoracious]

I agree with you!

[annalex]

Good start.

They need a communion rail, too.

[ELS]

the only regrettable thing is the presence of the Novus Ordo altar blocking the high altar in the back.

If they wanted to have both the OF and EF Masses possible, they could have a freestanding altar that can be easily moved in or out of the sanctuary. There are parishes where this is done.

[Rashputin]

Well, obviously they believe a sacred host spiritually is the body and blood of Christ while a crouton is just a crouton.

[DLfromthedesert]

I agree. If the statues needed some renovation, that would have been OK; but to completely destroy the holiness and insert the profane is unforgivable.

[old republic]

Looks great - the only regrettable thing is the presence of the Novus Ordo altar blocking the high altar in the back.

I thought the same thing. The Novus Ordo altar is obstructing the high altar (symbolic of Calvary), and doesn't really fit in with the rest of the sanctuary. The Sanctuary is also missing a communion rail at which communicants can kneel to God. Other than those two things, the restoration of this sanctuary is wonderful.

[old republic]

Well, obviously they believe a sacred host spiritually is the body and blood of Christ...

It's not just a spiritual change, but also a physical change as well. Every particle of a consecrated host and every drop of the wine in the chalice contains the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ in its entirety under the appearance of bread and wine. It's not just a symbolic "spiritual change" that occurs at the consecration, but also a change of the substance of the bread and wine that occurs at the consecration. After the consecration, it only appears to be bread and wine, but it no longer is.

[Rashputin]

I understand and agree but from what I've read and heard the Satanist crowd see it in a somewhat different different light.

A twisted light for sure, but the question was why they want a consecrated host rather than something from a non-Catholic communion service, not what is the true nature of a consecrated host.

[miserare]

Yes.

Thank God (and Father Cunnungham) that they are restoring the Church to its former dignity.

[miserare]

Yes! And it is so nice to see.

The Church used in the TV show “Blue Bloods” is one such traditional church, St. Patrick’s in Bay Ridge. It has been unchanged since I attended there some 50 years ago.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Coleus.