Tridentine Community News - 'Extraordinary Faith' episode (EWTN) on church architecture; TLM Mass times

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (February 28, 2016):

February 28, 2016 – Third Sunday of Lent

Extraordinary Faith Episode 8: New Church Architecture Episode 8 of Extraordinary Faith will debut on EWTN today, Sunday, February 28, 2016 at 4:30 PM. It will air again on Wednesday, March 2 at 5:30 AM.

Have you ever despaired about the state of modern Catholic church architecture? Think we’re resigned to bland, modern buildings that are reminiscent of hotel conference rooms more than Houses of God? Well, don’t despair, because there’s a movement afoot to rekindle the art of classic church architecture, and this episode will show you some of its fruits.

Our first guest in Episode 8 is Dr. Denis McNamara, who teaches at Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary. Dr. McNamara is the author of numerous books on the subject of proper sacred architecture. This column has previously made mention of Heavenly City, his picture book depicting the historic churches of Chicago. Dr. McNamara explains for us what sort of considerations make for proper church design.


The remainder of the episode is dedicated to the work of one of the most prolific architects in the field of neo-classical church design, Duncan Stroik.

First, Duncan takes us on a tour of the chapel he designed for Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California.


Next we travel to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where we visit the Shine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, another Stroik design that is arguably the most ornate church built in the past four decades. Members of the family that donated the land for the shrine explain how it came to be, and one of the sisters who works at the shrine gives us a tour.


We then pay a visit to Duncan’s bustling office in South Bend, Indiana, where we see some of the projects on which the firm is working. We also learn about a book Duncan has written and about Sacred Architecture, the quarterly magazine on his favorite subject which he publishes as a labor of love.


Episode 8 will be posted for viewing on our web site, www.extraordinaryfaith.tv, and on YouTube, one month after it debuts on EWTN. Please also like the Extraordinary Faith page on Facebook, so you’ll be notified about the latest air dates and news about the sites we explore.

EWTN will be showing the following episode of Extraordinary Faith on March 6; we’ll cover that program in this column next week.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 02/29 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (Feria of Lent)
• Tue. 03/01 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary (Feria of Lent)
• Fri. 03/04 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (Sacred Heart of Jesus) [First Friday]

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for February 28, 2016. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]