This week the tour brings us to Chestnut Hill, home to one of the older Philly churches: Our Mother of Consolation, which dates back to 1855. In a way it’s fitting: an old historic church, and an old, really historic area. Normally that combination would result in some sort of ridiculous neutron bomb of churchiness, but that’s sadly not the case here.
Church Project Theorem #5: Old vs. Even Older Churches: This is an important point to make. We’ve already established the relationship between old and new churches, particularly those who have “tweener” status. But there’s also an important distinction between old and even older churches. Generally speaking, the older the church, the higher the chance of it being ornate. Problem is, sometimes a parish can be TOO old. You know, built back in the day before they really had the chutzpah (or the resources) to try to reach the heavens with their construction. There’s no set timeline, but the truly ornate period in this area tends to fall between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Anything earlier is really a crapshoot. Thus, old is good, but even older is not necessarily better.
That brings us back to Our Mother of Consolation, whose 1855 establishment date puts it more in the unremarkable “older” camp. It’s stone, which is nice, but it’s not very big. Inside, it’s incredibly plain, with little ornamentation. Hell, the ceiling beams are made of wood. Wood! As it stands, the large, centrally placed spire is its most prominent and interesting feature.
I hesitate to give it the “last place” booby prize, but I can’t in good conscience put it above St. William. That church wasn’t remarkable either, but at least there’s more of it to not like.
Size Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Ornamentation Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Design Rating: 5 out of 10 crosses
