Church #47 - St. Joseph, Providence

My friend Tom had a Mass said for my family here yesterday morning (on my Dad's birthday, it so happens), and we agreed that this is an absolutely wonderful church. For the second time on this tour, I was lucky enough to be able to get into the main church even though the Mass was in a side chapel. The side chapel clearly used to be the sacristy, but it was a beautiful setting for the Mass. The priest was a great preacher, and the parish seems very well run (see below). Some people stayed after Mass to pray the Rosary.

The church was built in 1853 and has stood ever since, making the parish the oldest continuously operating one in the Diocese. The parish has an impressive visitor's packet, featuring a pamphlet and guided tours of the sanctuary area and the stained glass windows. We know this because a nun from the Sisters of Mercy approached us in the church after Mass and gave them to us. This is a brilliant recruiting tool for a parish, especially one as old and historical as this.

Better view of the stained glass in front of the altar

The church features the very old-school dividers that cut the pews into two sections. What was the rationale for making the pews this way? I guess it makes it easier to separate different families from each other?

Stained glass at the very back of the church. The choir loft goes back an unusually long way.

My favorite part of the sanctuary is the balcony, which wraps most of the way around the sanctuary. Tom observed that this partially covers some of the stained glass windows. Was the balcony added after the windows to accommodate more people? That would be my best guess. The seats in the balcony clearly aren't used anymore, and now contain ductwork.

One last thing I love about the parish is the big stone rectory. I would be ecstatic to live in a house that looked like this. There's a building that clearly used to be a parish school, but it's now being used for something else.