The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-06-07

we take great pleasure IN presenting our
readers, to-day, with an exterior view of the
beautiful church which the jealous pastors
and devoted people of st. Stephens parish are,
at present, building on Napoleon Avenue, in
the Sixth District. 1t promises to be of
most beautiful churches in the country, and
may we'll bear comparison, in gracefulness of
design and nobleness of form, with the cathe-
drals of Europe
| The style of architecture is pure German,
gothic, the chief characteristic of which is the
high and sharply pointed arches, clustered
| columns, etc. In classic architecture, the reg
ular orders have their respective capitals but
this, like the Norman and Egyptian, has an
endless diversity of fern. The body of the
church measures 21S feet in length, and 100
feet in width. The side walls are CD feet in
height, and the cross on the summit of the
tower will, when completed, be IT'S feet from
the ground. Tho FACADE has four high-arched
openings, above which, in as many inches, will
be placed stone statues of saints and martyrs.
Two tiers of pointed windows, five in each
tier, ornament the side walls of the church
the higher ones having three mullions in each,
deliberately carved, and which will be filled
with stained glass of the richest coiors.
The lateral walls of the sanctuary have each
an immense circular window, known in archi-
lecture as st. GATHERINGS wheel, also quantity
carved in stone, and divided into many COM
partments radiatipg from the centre. The
Interior according to the plan shown u.s.,
| is exceedingly spacious, being divided into a
! nave and four aisles, with large vestibule
and widely extended sanctuary. One feature
| of this church, though seldom seen in this
| country is of frequent occurrence in European
| churches, namely the balconies overlookip e
| the sanctuary from the lateral walls of the
1 building. These are reserved for gentlemen
of the clergy or laity who may wish to witness
| the grand ceremonials of Festivals without
| actually taking part in them. The choir
| gallery will be highly ornamented with ira
Gerry, figures and beautiful designs. The
| waterfront, at the opening of the vestibule into
| the church proper, will also be of gothic con-
| structiop, we'll as the pulpit, confessionals,
| etc.
| Indeed we have never seen design for Gods
temple more perfect in its details, or more
| beautiful in it's entirety.
| The rapid growth of Catholioity in this city
is marked by the fact that the three churches
| of st. Stephens parish, although within short
| distance, each from the other, are not sufficient
| for the needs of the congregations. We were
| informed a week ago, that every pew in the
English-speaking church was taken; and not
withstanding this, many persons are still dis
| appoin ted, being unable to secure even a
| single seat On the last day of May, during
| the touching ceremonies in honor of the
| Blessed Lady, the church was crowded almost
| to suffocatiou, aud we know that many mothers
| were reluctantly compelled to return home
| with their little ones, because there was no
room for them within the church. The pro-
cession of flow YER crowned children, that slowly
| wendell it's way through the asles, was so
| long that the head came in contact with the
| rear and thus formed continuous circle
around the walls of the sacred edifice. We
| then realized how inadequate were the present
| accommodations to the requirements of the
| people, and, no doubt, all those who witnessed
the ceremonies must have determined to leave
| no means untried to complete the vast church
! destined, one day, to afford ample room for all
the devout souls who love to take part in the
grand ceremonials performed in honor of God
and His saints.
At present, the walls of the new church
are completed, and the building is ready
| for the roof, SO much needed for the pro-
lection of the walls and the security of the
costly labor that Fair was opened last even
| ing, in st. Stephens Hall, by tie ladies of the
| parish. We scarcely need to dwell upon the
| Importance of the work, for we can readily
understand how every earnest Catholic desires
to see "a glorious dwelling place" for the
Eternal God, erected here on earth; and We
can also understand how even the sooffer must
wish to have his native land made beautiful
by moRumsnta of art aud works of enduring
skill. Catholics it has been said, do not build
for few years only, but for all time, and it n
just such churches as the one we have de-
scribed which makes Italy the land of grace
and beauty.
Our own country, too, will one day have it's
ancient monuments and its classic shrin es and
when that time arrives, our descendants will
rejoice that their forefathers gave their hands
and hearts to the erection of an edifice SO hon.
orable to mans zeal and worthy of Gods
glory.
We cioEA With n from,