St. Joseph Catholic Church, Boyd

Here are pictures of St. Joseph Church, in Boyd, Wisconsin.  This church is part of the All Saints Catholic Community of Boyd, Cadott, and Stanley.  St. Joseph’s is 189 road miles northwest of Madison's Cathedral Parish and the State Capitol.

For a small-town church, St. Joseph's has an impressive group of statues.  Most visible among these are on the high altar on either side of the Crucifix.  Click on any of these photos to view a larger version.

Left: St. Patrick, Bishop and Patron of Ireland  

Right: St. Boniface, Bishop, Martyr, and Patron of Germany

It is common practice in Catholic churches to have a pair of angels positioned on opposite sides of the tabernacle.  Equipped with modern day torches, they make a striking presence with the Christmas trees. These photos were taken on the third day of Christmas.

From the front altar.

A great effort to revive the beauty in these statues is taking place.  A parishoner has taken several of the fading statues and repainted them back to life.  Above are pictures of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, found in the church basement, from March 2012 (left) and December 2013 (right).  One can only hope this effort continues for all the statues in this church.  A look at the statue's base indicates that it was made by Daprato Statuary Company based in Chicago, which is still in business as Daprato Rigali Studios.

From what I have found, St. Joseph's is not known for having a dominant single ethnicity among its churchgoers.  Perhaps as a result, we see statues of French, German, Hungarian, Irish, and other saints spread throughout the church.

Though it is hard to tell, I believe this is St. Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian who aspired to the priesthood though he died before ordination.  Poland's St. Stanislaus Kostka has a similar history, but most artwork of St. Aloysius displays him carrying the Cross in addition to lilies, alluding to his practiced chastity.^[1]  I chose to display this photo in grey scale as the sacristy window made conditions too bright to photograph in full color.

Infant of Prague

Easily the most curious statue display in the church.  In one of the steeples, a room stores the hidden statues of Saints Michael the Archangel, Vincent de Paul, Mary with her Immaculate Heart, and Catherine of Alexandria.  All of these statues are in various states of disrepair, but even with chipped paint and parts broken off, fine artistry is still evident.

Detail of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Queen of Egypt and Martyr.

St. Joseph and Child.

XII  Jesus dies on the cross 

Also impressive at St. Joseph's are the stained glass windows.  Again, the parish community picked an out-of-state company to bring these to life, now Emil Frei & Associates of St. Louis.  

Donated by Catholic Order of Foresters Sisters Court No. 1433

An unusual window in Midwestern churches perhaps; St. Margaret Mary Alacoque with Jesus, revealing His Sacred Heart.  This and other visions came to St. Margaret Mary in the 1670s, helping set the foundation for Catholic devotion to the Sacred Heart to this day.^[2]

View from the choir loft.

St. Joseph is also the home base for the All Saints parish school, seen to the left of the church.  After having schools open in Boyd, Cadott, and Stanley at various points, the Boyd school location (also named for St. Joseph) was selected to reopen to students at the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year.  In the church basement, which also doubles as the school cafeteria, old St. Joseph's School memorabilia make a colorful appearance.

St. Joseph Church, All Saints Catholic Parish

719 E. Patten St.  Boyd, WI 54726

http://allsaintscathcom.com/

Many thanks to the parish Priest and Head of Maintenance who guided my visit and allowed me to photograph St. Joseph's.

Additional Sources

[1] http://americamagazine.org/content/all-things/life-times-st-aloysius-gonzaga

[2] http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots323.htm

St. Agatha Catholic Church, St. Louis, Missouri

With today being St.Agatha's feast day, here is a trio of photos from St. Agatha Catholic Church in St. Louis, Missouri.  This Gothic Revival church building is one of many noteworthy churches in The Gateway City. 

The initials of St. Agatha sit above the main doors into the church.  As with many Gothic churches, buttresses are prevalent.  These ones are projecting somewhat unusually from the steeple in a diagonal fashion.

St. Agatha sits just a few blocks south of the Anheuser-Busch (that's Budweiser folks) brewery in the historic Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis.  Largely cut off from the more vibrant areas of the neighborhood's bar and restaurant scene, nineteenth century homes are still prevalent around the parish, making for a pleasant walking environment.  St. Agatha serves as the parish for Polish-language masses in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

St. Louis' historic wealth of impressive neighborhood catholic churches earned the city a noteworthy moniker as "Rome of the West."  Today, a lovely blog, Rome of the West, has a lovely photo set and description of St. Agatha's which you can visit here.  The author of Rome of the West has done a fine job of photographing churches in and around the St. Louis metro area and his site is definitely worth a visit!

St. Agatha Church

3239 S. 9th St.  St. Louis, MO 63118

http://www.polishchurchstlouis.org/

Two Basilicas in One Day, Part 2 - St. Josaphat

The second basilica visit on this day was nearly as hectic as the first.  By the time I arrived at St. Josaphat, it was already dark, after the vigil mass.  Fortunately, the Basilica was hosting a concert that evening, so I was able to catch some photos with the evening lighting.

Altar of the Annunciation, with the advent wreath, votive candles, and the umbrellino all nearby.

Detail of the altar, featuring the Black Madonna and Child.  The Black Madonna, often referred to as Our Lady of Czestochowa, is the patroness of Poland.  The neighborhood of the Basilica began as a large Polish immigrant stronghold, starting many parishes in south Milwaukee.  To this day, Polish-American traditions still hold sway around the south side of the Milwaukee metro area, including at the Basilica.

A side altar, originating from the previous St. Josaphat's parish church from the 19th century.  With the altar's center devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary, we also see Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Milwaukee's prominent south-siders are newer immigrants and their descendants from Mexico.  Their presence around the south side of Milwaukee makes for one of the most culturally vibrant parts of Wisconsin.  Their devotion to Catholicism is also vital to keeping many of Milwaukee's parishes open after the departure of other ethnic groups. 

Detail of St. Joseph and the Christ Child, from a matching side altar.

The Annual Helping Tree.

Many of these anecdotes come from The Basilica of St. Josaphat, a book produced by the Basilica in 2002.  It is a rich guide on the history of the community, architecture, and decor of the Basilica.

The Basilica of St. Josaphat

2333 S. 6th St.  Milwaukee, WI 53215
http://thebasilica.org/

Two Basilicas in One Day, Part 1 - Holy Hill

To tour both of Wisconsin's basilicas while Christmas shopping is no mean feat.  They are simply too nice to sprint through!  Alas, here are a few photos from the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill.

Holy Hill's namesake comes from its position in Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine region.  Holy Hill is southeast Wisconsin's highest point.  On a clear day, a visitor near the main entrance to the basilica can see the skyscrapers of downtown Milwaukee, 25 miles away.

The altar, cloaked in purple for the advent season.  These photos were taken on the vigil of the second Sunday of Advent.  On the high altar there are reredos of eight doctors of the Catholic Church.  To the right of the altar is an umbrellino, Latin for umbrella, which is a customary icon in basilicas.

A lectern and the advent wreath sit in front of a mosaic of St. John of the Cross.  St. John of the Cross (1542 -1591), co-founded the order of Discalced Carmelites, the religious order who operate Holy Hill. 

Stained glass window depicting the Annunciation.

Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill

1525 Carmel Road  Hubertus, WI 53033
https://holyhill.com/

Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

From Old St. Mary's Catholic Church in Milwaukee.

Old St. Mary Parish

836 N. Broadway  Milwaukee, WI 53202
http://oldsaintmary.org/

St. Patrick Catholic Church, Janesville, Wisconsin

Detail of St. Patrick's stained glass window in the nave of Janesville's oldest parish.  Here St Patrick is shown driving snakes off the Emerald Isle, as the legend goes.  As is typical in St. Patrick artwork, he is dressed in bishop's clothes and wielding a crosier.

A full view of the window, as see from the opposite side of the nave.  The church is Janesville oldest standing Catholic church building, built in the 19th century.  From the words of a kind parishioner, this and the bulk of the other windows also date to that time period. 

A little insight regarding the funding or sponsorship for this window: "Donated by St. Patrick's Court W.C.O.F No. 318"

St. Patrick Parish
315 Cherry Street  Janesville, WI 53548
http://www.stpats.org/

Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Madison, Wisconsin

This is Holy Redeemer Church, part of Madison's Cathedral Parish.  Built in the 1860s, it originally served Madison's German Catholics.  Today it serves a diverse congregation, with Masses offered in Spanish, Latin, and English each weekend.  Located only a block from the famous State Street and between the State Capitol and University of Wisconsin campus, its patina-touched steeple is a familiar sight to many.

Beyond the church is the former Holy Redeemer school building.  Closed for many years, it is currently being repurposed for student housing in cooperation with St. Paul's University Catholic Center on State Street.  The Lumen House, as it is named, is scheduled to open for students for the Fall 2014 semester.

Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Cathedral Parish

120 W. Johnson St.  Madison, WI 53703

http://www.isthmuscatholic.org/