What did you do on your summer vacation? I can tell you what the Project didn't do--visit churches, since our last one was nearly five months ago. Ok, so our New Year's resolution didn't work out quite the way we thought it would, but at least it makes every recap we do now all the more precious. Right? Right? Aww, just agree with me.
Fortunately, you don't have to worry about rust. I've done so many of these that even after five months off I can still do this in my sleep. (Note: I'm not actually sleeping right now. But I probably could.)
On to Holy Cross.
This is actually a parish that the Project has gotten quite a few e-mails about. One even contained pictures, which I'll get to later. But you know the Project's rule: one crackpot suggests something, I shrug. Two, I shrug harder. But three or more AND you send decent pictures? Well, then you're on to something. The exterior of Holy Cross doesn't look like much, but I was convinced enough to brave the Belgian blocks of Germantown Avenue.
Cue the St. Athanasius Effect.
Middling exterior aside, Holy Cross is a very stout entry. It's a smallish, non-columned, non-cruciform Gothic church. Not a good start, granted, but Holy Cross wins because it has the stones (literally) to go with an essentially all-stone interior. Most churches, maybe because they're afraid of the coldness and darkness, try to augment the stone with plaster. It doesn't work.
The Project, for what it's worth, has never feared a little dark and cold in our church construction, and all-stone interiors are classically beautiful and great at evoking an old-world feel. Sure, the ceiling is done in wood and there wood protrusions (topped by creepy painted angels, no less), but Holy Cross still succeeds where all others fail.
An impressive figurine-encrusted marble altar and twin organ pipe banks on the back wall round out the impressive features. The windows and stations of the cross aren't much to write home about, but hey, you take what you can, and there's more good here than bad.
One note: If you think Holy Cross shares a lot in common with protestant architecture, you're not alone. The parish initially occupied an Episcopal church, and I've been unable to verify whether that's still the building they use, or whether they eventually managed to build their own. The shrimpy spacing around the sanctuary and side altars, side doors in the middle of the nave and not near the sanctuary, and the exterior design all scream Protestant to me. Trust me--you don't usually see the likes of this stuff in the Roman Catholic architecture of the day.
If anyone from Holy Cross or elsewhere knows, feel free to let me know.
Before I move on, the pictures. Project reader Coleen W. alerted me to a Flickr photostream of someone's 2008 baptism at the church. I mention it because the Project's overachieving camera just wasn't up to the task of a dimly-lit stone church. These far-brighter reader images are a good complement.
Overall, worth your time.
Overall Size: 6.5 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 7 out of 10 crosses
