Ok, perhaps I’m being somewhat facetious. But there’s no denying that poorer areas have accounted for our best churching experiences. Where would the Project be without Immaculate Conception, St. Martin de Porres, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, St. Francis de Sales, Incarnation of Our Lord…I could go on, but you get the idea. The Fat Girl Principle is often a sign of desperation, yes, but also of warmth, passion and fun.
To that end, I present to you West Kensington’s Visitation BVM. Visitation is an odd parish because it services some of the worst areas of North Philadelphia, including West Kensington, Fairhill and Hartranft. Yet, the church, situated right near the intersection of Lehigh & Kensington Avenues, is literally within spitting distance of the more respectable sections of Kensington and Port Richmond. Hell, St. Anne is barely two minutes from this church, and yet it might as well be on the other side of the planet.
Upper v. Lower Church: Visitation has been on my list for some time, but like many urban parishes, they suffer from some variation of this dreaded conundrum. They do earn props for actually using their upper church, but because the Hispanic population is the most vibrant, the only masses they regularly hold up there are…you guessed it, in Spanish. The Project doesn’t speak Spanish very well, but my mission demanded that I suck it up and attend anyway.
I didn’t understand much of the actual mass, but I did discover that Visitation is a fantastic piece of old-school church architecture, one that ranks among Philly’s great churches. It’s an ancient Gothic behemoth, notable for its brownstone construction, oddly cream-colored contrasts and super-funky oxidized copper spires. We’ve seen copper spires before, most notably in St. Adalbert, St. Laurentius and the defunct Assumption BVM, but these take the cake. There’s nothing else like them in the city.
Inside, we get a stellar cruciform plaster interior that’s strikingly reminiscent of the excellent St. John the Baptist, right down to the ribbed vaults on the ceiling. It utilizes a cool blue and white palette (Mary’s colors), which is fitting since it takes its name from Mary. (The only other church to really do so was the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal—which is, shockingly, also devoted to Mary.) It also features huge marble stations of the cross, a grand organ, and fine mural work in the apse. Sure, it’s not as ornate as St. John, but that’s not really a knock, since few churches are. It comes mighty close, though, and I think I actually prefer the expansive altar here to the more compact one there.
LOOK FOR IT: Lower church doors in the front of the church, a rare feature. Only St. Martin of Tours, Immaculate Conception and the defunct Transfiguration of Our Lord have the same design.
LOOK FOR IT, PT2: The stained glass windows in the nave open at both the bottom and the top. Bottom openings are common, but I’ve never, ever seen windows that have them at the top, too.
MEDIA MATTERS: Did you see the 2006 movie "Rocky Balboa?" The film is of questionable value, but the Project likes it because Visitation makes a cameo appearance. There's a scene where Rocky and a friend are having a conversation outside, and the church is prominently visible behind him. It further proves that Rocky was from Kensington. Not, as many people assume, from South Philadelphia.
I love most everything about this church, even the endearingly bizarre exterior. Simply great.
Size Rating: 9 out of 10
Ornamentation Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Overall Design Rating: 9.5 out of 10 crosses
