St. Patrick's Groundbreaking

On Sunday November 3, 2013 St. Patrick's Parish in Lincoln officially broke ground on their new church. A long held dream of gaining a new parish church is now one step closer to reality for the member of St. Patrick's. The original church in the Havelock area of Lincoln was built in 1908 as a combined church and school. While the century old church has served the community well, it is undersized for the large parish. 

Well over 400 people turned out for the groundbreaking on the brisk November evening. Pastor Troy Schweiger addressed the large crowd, praising the parish for all their efforts to make the church a reality. Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln blessed the ground as well as the cornerstone and bell which will both be placed in the new structure. Bishop Conley spoke of how the beauty of the physical structure of a chruch has the ability to lead us to God as it is the dwelling place of the Lord. 

The evening concluded with a potluck dinner and fellowship by all those in attendance.

Phi Kappa Theta Roundup

 Congratulations to the men of the Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity on the opening of their chapter house this 2013-2014 school year. May this first year be filled with many memories!

Two significant events occurred in the recent months to mark the opening of the PKT fraternity house. First, the formal ribbon cutting took place on July 15th. The evening began with tours of the house given by fraternity members, both current university students and recent graduates. The guests were addressed by Mr. Jude Werner, Director of Development, and Father Robert Matya both of the St. Thomas Aquinas Church—Newman Center. Lastly, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln spoke of the beauty involved in noble building projects such as the fraternity and St. Thomas, which is currently under construction. An exciting highlight was the opening of the time capsule found in the 1960 Newman Center building. It contained the following: two newspapers, religious medals, and two letters, one recognizing those involved with the building project, the other from the late Bishop Casey giving thanks to God and Mary for the building.

Bishop Conley blessing bedrooms of the fraternity. 

Secondly, the house was blessed by Bishop Conley on September 6th. With the date just a few weeks into the academic year it allowed for all of the PKT fraternity members to be in attendance. Matt Keller, fraternity chapter president, spoke expressing many thanks to all those involved to make this house a reality. Bishop blessed the fraternity and then entrusted the house and its members to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

In between these two events, the fraternity members moved into their new home for the academic year. The move in was met by both local and national media attention. Read some of the articles below: 

New UNL fraternity caters to religious faith -- University of Nebraska - Lincoln Today

Phi Kappa Theta house opens on campus, hopes to change Greek image -- The Daily Nebraskan

UNL Catholic Fraternity Breaks Ground on Campus -- Southern Nebraska Register

Catholic fraternity house completed at UNL -- Journal Star

Residence Halls Get Religion -- Inside Higher Ed

Religious Dorms Sprout Up -- The Wall Street Journal

As construction on the physical home for the PKT fraternity members concludes, Clark Architects is inspired to see construction on the spiritual home of the University of Nebraska students commence, the St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Newman Center.

Construction Progress (August 2012 to September 2013)

Stained-Glass Summit

This past week collaborative design meetings were held for the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center. We were glad to welcome the team from Franz Mayer of Munich (yes, all the way from Germany!), as well as the well-known classical architect James McCrery from Washington, D.C.

The stained-glass windows that will adorn the new church were foremost in our discussions, especially the large sanctuary window. It was a pleasant time all around, with many open and productive conversations about sacred art and sacred architecture.

Yet another exciting week for Clark Architects and the entire St. Thomas team!

Polish Cathedral Style

St. Mary of the Angels in Chicago, the Basilica of St. Josaphat in Milwaukee, and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Pittsburgh are some of the greatest example of a specific architectural style know as “Polish Cathedral Style.” This style emerged in the Polish immigrant cities of the American Midwest during the early twentieth century.  Chicago in particular has an extensive collection of these churches because it has the world’s second largest Polish population (after Warsaw).

Although not cathedrals in their proper sense - as none of these are the central church of a diocese nor do they contain the bishops' cathedra - the size of these churches would rival any cathedral, with seating capacities sometimes over 2,000.

Although difficult to concisely define, Polish Cathedral Style "evokes the architecture of a perceived 'golden age' of Polish history [1].  These Polish churches take cues from Baroque architecture which "had a particular draw for Poles, as Poland's history reveals a flourishing of the arts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries." [2]  They possess exuberant interiors with elaborate painting programs and exteriors that often employ bell towers and vast domes. 

Even with a heavy reliance on Classical, Baroque, and sometimes Renaissance architecture the most appropriate label for Polish Cathedral Style would be eclectic. [3]  Prominent architects, including Adolphus Druiding, Henry  Schlacks, Worthmann and Steinbach, and Joseph McCarthy, have each had their hand at creating these grand structures.  Their designs proved that they were not purists of specific style.  At times this combination of elements produced results that were confusing, such as St. John Cantius in Chicago. [4]  But the encouraging point is that this mix-and-match approach works.

The churches of the Polish Cathedral Style exemplify a solemnity not forgotten.  Though they are palatial and grand, for those living in the shadows of these edifices, they are part of the rhythm of parish life.  They are common in that they are viewed and used on a daily basis; but, they are not commonplace.  The Polish Cathedral churches demonstrate a level of architectural classicism and give a glimpse of the heavenly liturgy that is sought after and today's churches should aspire to. 

 - Kate Kelly

[1] Denis McNamara, Heavenly City: The Architectural Tradition of Catholic Chicago (Chicago:  Liturgy Training Publications, 2005), 58. 

[2] Ibid.

[3] Matthew Alderman, "Forgotten Architectural Styles II:  The American Polish Cathedral Style," The New Liturgical Movement, June 10, 2007,  http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2007/06/forgotten-architectural-styles-ii.html. 

[4] McNamara, 50. 

St. Mary's (Sutton) Parish Hall Blessing

The parish hall for St. Mary, Sutton, Nebraska was blessed on Sunday, June 16th by Bishop James Conley. The blessing of the hall followed the Sunday Mass, which was also celebrated by Bishop Conley with pastor of St. Mary's, Father William Holoubek, concelebrating. Afterwards, dinner was served for 200 parishioners and guests.

In his homily, Bishop Conley noted how difficult it is to construct something new to look old and that St. Mary's has accomplished a great feat that the new hall blends so well with the historic church built over 100 years ago. The exterior architecture was designed to complement and protect the integrity of the existing church. This was accomplished by following the same lines as the church and matching the brick and wooden roof shingles. The interior includes classrooms on the lower level and a large hall and kitchen on the main level to serve the parish's many needs.

Clark Architects Collaborative 3 is proud to see another project come to completion. Congratulations goes to St Mary's and Father Holoubek for their hard work and efforts.

Link to Southern Nebraska Register's article on St. Mary's Parish Hall