For this week’s installment of “Le Chiese delle Cittá” I will finally look at a church here in Milwaukee. I have been exploring the meaning of Gothic Revival and Neo-gothic in two churches so far. You might say it has almost been a Progression. This next church is a German immigrant parish on the south side of Milwaukee. It is also my parish, when I’m in Milwaukee.
As I said previously, Neo-gothic tends to be a movement of the people, almost a nostalgic movement that seeks to invoke the Cathedrals and churches of the Old Country. The specific forms and materials of High Gothic are not necessary nor even most of the time affordable. And yet, the immigrants built stone churches with high windows, gothic vaulting, and ornate wood altar pieces. St. Anthony’s in Milwaukee is one such church.
Do not let my apparent disdain for the Neo-gothic deceive you. I am in many ways in love with this church as well as other gothic churches. When done well, Neo-gothic is an authentic (there’s your word, Marc) expression of Christian Art. Although I could focus on the fact that St. Anthony’s has a beautiful yellow-grey stone on the outside or that it has plaster interior vaulting or that it has beautiful stained-glass windows, I have already talked about the value of those things in other posts. I will instead focus on the wood work, which is distinctly German.
St. Anthony’s features an enormous wood High Altar piece. I mean, if you want to know what “High Altar” actually means, look no farther. Its aedicular nature puts it firmly in the Gothic camp and central, of course, is a larger than life Crucifix. It’s probably one of my favorite Crucifixes I have ever seen (I have a lot of affection for this church…). As is traditional, there are statues of Mary and John flanking the Cross. Also featured are St. Peter, St. Joseph and St. Anthony. On the front of the High Altar are three carvings, The offering “of your servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham our father in faith, and the bread and wine offered by your priest Mechizidek.” (Roman Canon) I don’t know if that’s too obscure for you, but seriously…that’s cool.
The “free-standing Altar” is actually a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, mostly because it is fashioned from the old doors of the Communion Rail. (The Rail with new doors was re-installed before we started going.) There are carvings of various Eucharistic themes including Grapes.
Moving east from the Altar, you would encounter the two side altars. They are very similar to the High Altar except on a smaller scale. They are less ornate but only barely so. The left-hand altar is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, flanked by St. Michael and St. Aloysius and the right-hand altar is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin flanked by St. Anne and St. Cecilia. Also, there is a carved wooden aedicule for a statue of the Pieta and one for Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Next are the Confessionals. They have the traditional curtain covering the opening to each of the confessional boxes. And once again, they are pieces of ornate woodwork.
Looking over the nave is the High Pulpit. The carvings are the figures of many of the early Christian Fathers, including St. Augustine. The symbolism is obvious. This is the place where the teaching of the Gospel is proclaimed. The Fathers have been an example of that for 2000 years. Over the preacher is the carved soundboard which reminds one of the day before there were microphones. The voice of the priest would resound down the nave and in true Catholic style, they decided to make it as elaborate as possible.
Finally, after processing past the column’d nave, and glancing at (or praying) the Stations of the Cross (with carved wooden frames) one would encounter the Choir Loft. Now I have spent many an hour in this Choir Loft and I can attest that it is Nice. The Organ itself is a gem. In fact, it is the best part. I have a friend at ND who could probably tell you the year it was built just by listening to it, but I could not without looking it up. It continues with the tradition with a carved wooden case.
I believe the Gothic-in-general, especially the Low Gothic specialized in wooden loveliness. In my experience, this specific kind of furnishing are German in nature.
There is, of course, more to this church, but its most remarkable feature is the wood. I would wager that this true of most Neo-gothic churches. Where the structural craftsmanship is not highly skilled (plaster and heavy wooden beams) the labor is put into providing God with Glory through the most beautiful altars etc. that the immigrants could provide.
Tune in next time for Rome: The Eternal City!
6 thoughts on “Le Chiese delle Cittá: Neo-gothic Proper?”
My boyfriend and I just visited St. Josaphat in Milwaukee this weekend. We met a kind older gentlemen there who was giving us info on other local Catholic churches – he recommended we stop by and see St. Anthony and St….I forget (on 5th street by St Josaphat). I can at least now see why he recommended this one though!
St. Stanislaus is the one on Fifth Street. It’s our sister parish. It is also beautiful (although they did something weird to the Stained-Glass Windows. St. Stan’s is run by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign High Priest (I think that’s it) which is a French group that says the Extraordinary Form.
St. Josephat’s is gorgeous and I almost wish I had done that one…But it’s Baroque and I’ll be getting plenty of that and even more amazing in Europe.
I have to say I didn’t care for the style of St. Josaphat’s interior, but I loved the amount of history and tradition literally on every single wall, ceiling, etc. Very cool.
I’m not the biggest fan of baroque in general, but St. Josephat’s if nothing else, is impressive. The Exterior, I would say, is very well conceived.
Is there a way to enlarge the pictures? It sounds like a beautiful church, but it’s hard to see the wood work on these small pictures.
An informative post.