I must admit that St. Patrick wasn’t originally on tap for this week. However, I realized that Monday was St. Patrick’s day. How often do you have a chance to attend a parish on their namesake’s day? NEVER! Especially a feast day as, ahem, noteworthy as St. Patrick. The more I pondered the concept, the more I liked it, particularly given that this holiday holds special meaning for yours truly.
The opportunity to attend St. Patrick on St. Patrick’s Day (well, technically, the day before) was just too good to pass up. Shockingly, though, there was nary a mention of the impending feast day of their patron saint! Since it was Palm Sunday, all of their attention was focused on the passion of JC. I know it’s important, but come on!
Regardless, I still had a good time because St. Patrick is a really wonderful church, albeit a slightly strange one. We’ve seen a wide range of styles, but one thing is pretty much consistent—that a church maintains the same architectural style inside and out. For example, gothic exterior, gothic interior.
St. Patrick is different because its interior and exterior seem to come from two totally different architectural schools of thought. The exterior appears to sway toward a handsome Italian-Renaissance style, as indicated by the Corinthian-style columns and moldings that mark the exterior. But inside, St. Patrick eschews the plaster, murals and flat roof for stone, brick and a vaulted, semi-circular roof. None of those are hallmarks of Renaissance-style architecture; indeed, it's more Romanesque than anything else. The designers were either a.) terribly forgetful, b.) very stupid or c.) pleasantly insane. I vote C, but that’s just me.
That said, it all works wonderfully. It may not be dripping with ornamentation, but St. Patrick’s is still very beautiful, especially in the gold-tiled apse, and the appropriately grandiose size increases the majesty of it all.
Also, it’s worth noting that St. Patrick’s lower church is a shrine-encrusted, green-marbled powerhouse. I’ve never hid my disdain of lower churches, but as far as they go, this is one of the best ones.
LOOK FOR IT: There are Irish elements thrown into almost every interior element, such as Celtic-designs on the pillars and lamps, and a pair of enormous, green marble holy water fonts at the entrance.
All in all, the Project is a big fan.
Size Rating: 9 out of 10
Ornamentation Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 9 out of 10 crosses
