The Project returns to West Philadelphia! We haven’t been to this area since our triumphant, sad sendoff of Kingsessing’s Most Blessed Sacrament. Luckily, West Philly suffers none of the self-esteem problems that plague South Philly, so I haven’t had to endure any of the same late-night histrionics. I guess it takes its cue from UPenn; it knows it’s great, and to hell with what anyone thinks of if it.
Anyway, this week we tackle Haddington's Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, or OLOBS for short. (Wait, what is it with West Philly churches named “Blessed Sacrament?” Talk about your lack of imagination.)
The Romanesque OLOBS is a pretty fine church. It doesn’t have a dominating size, but it does have an effective columned, non-cruciform interior highlighted by semicircular arches and an arched, barrel-vaulted ceiling. Special attention should go to the highly detailed paintwork, which has a vaguely Egyptian / Greek feel to it. It's really one of a kind. We also get a respectable set of pictorial stained glass windows in the nave, clerestory windows up top, and an organ to boot. I get the impression that they don't really play it, but at least it looks nice.
The exterior of the church, meanwhile, is notable for having rounded corners on one side, as well as red trim on the sides along the top.
One interesting note: the center piece of the sanctuary, aside from the altar itself, is a large painting of Jesus on the cross. The curious thing is that the painting features Black characters, and its style doesn’t match the surrounding paintwork. I did some digging and found that, originally, a painting featuring Mary hung there. Somewhere along the line, possibly as recent as the consolidation, or even back when the neighborhood started to change, this new piece was comissioned. The question, then, is what happened to the old one. Given the state of the rest of the church, I doubt it was a damage issue. If anyone knows, clue me in .
(And, if anyone has a picture of the original painting, pass it on as well. The image I found was neither available nor suitable for publication here.)
LOOK FOR IT: The paint scrolls along the side feature images of holy people. One of them, however, is the Morningstar…a title normally associated with Lucifer. This leads to a rash of questions: why Lucifer? Is it some celebration of his former status an archangel? It is possible that the name “Morningstar” has other connotations I’m not currently aware of, but if it doesn’t, then OLOBS has a very strange design feature.
DON'T BOTHER LOOKING FOR IT: Also known as, "You might not know to look for it." OLOBS' rather modest spire has a surprisingly illustrious past, as you can see in this 1931 photo:
I personally think it's a little too ridiculous, a little too out of sync with the rest of the church, but what do I know?
Curiosities aside, OLOBS is a very nice addition. It’s not big, but it’s ornate enough to earn the Project’s approval.
Size Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Ornamentation Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 8 out of 10 crosses
