Church #18 - St. Bartholomew, Providence

This church is on the South side of Providence, with Masses in both English and Spanish. The interior is modern, but I like it a lot. From the left and right corners, the pews seem to go on forever across the sanctuary.

This parish has a special place in my heart. Over my April vacation I decided to walk around and pray at as many churches as possible in and around Providence. When I came to this one on a Sunday morning, a Spanish Mass happened to be starting, and I decided that that was going to be my Mass for the weekend.

The band/choir area

The Mass was great - the place was packed, and the music was great. There was a huge choir and band. The stereotypes about Spanish vs. English worship styles seem to be true. It was pretty fun to try to figure out exactly where we were in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. For the Liturgy of the Word, the readings were in the Missal in English, so I was able to follow along. I spent the sermon reading the bulletin and a reflection on the Sunday's Gospel in the Missal, so even that was time well spent.

St. Bartholomew was one of the 12 apostles. He is said to have spread Christianity to Armenia, so he is the patron Saint of Armenia. There are also stories of him preaching as far away as India before he died.