Church #114 - Sts. Peter and Paul, West Warwick

This parish is over 150 years old, and the church building is over 100, though it still seems to be going strong. It has a simple white exterior and a straightforward, rectangular layout. I came to the 9:00 Mass here on Easter Monday, so this is where I learned that Mother Angelica had died. The Mass was said for the victims of the Brussels terrorist attacks.

The congregation was praying the rosary along with the parish priest as I came in. There are a bunch of books and supplies for kids in the back to help families during Mass. The church interior has tall and simple stained glass windows, except for the two in the very front, which feature Sts. Peter and Paul. There are a pair of large statues halfway down the pews, and a rose window above the altar.

Bonus Post - St. Anthony Shrine, North Providence

This tiny building is in front of an apartment building on Smithfield Rd. in North Providence, right on the border with Providence. I've driven by it a bunch of times, since I live very close to here, but never bothered to stop. I wasn't surprised that it was locked, but I was pleasantly surprised that I could look inside and get pictures.

I called St. Anthony Church in North Providence to ask about it, and they say that it's not affiliated with them. Apparently some people from the neighborhood simply have a devotion to St. Anthony, and got together a while back to build it. Presumably somebody is still taking care of the place, or at least has a key to unlock it. If anyone knows more I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Church #113 - St. Agnes, Providence

I've driven by this church on Branch Ave. an uncountable number of times. It was open during the day on my church walks last April, just because the janitor happened to be there, so this wasn't my first time seeing the inside. The church shares a parish with St. Maria Goretti in Pawtucket. It has a Mass every Tuesday evening at 6pm that features a perpetual novena to St. Jude. The church itself is pretty small. There's a huge music section in a prominent raised area in the back. The altar area has an eye-catching carpet and rather strange wooden chairs for the priest and servers.

The crucifix is certainly a first for me; Jesus has one arm off the cross, extended outward and holding a dove. During Mass the lector reads a ton of intentions for the Prayers of the Faithful, which presumably come directly from the congregation. Then everyone says a long litany to St. Jude. I felt like the biggest cheapskate in the world because I had exactly one dollar in my wallet for the collection basket. The sacristan brings out a St. Jude relic after Mass for people to venerate.

Church #112 - St. Rita, Warwick

Happy Triduum! I visited this church for its 3:00 service yesterday, on an appropriately gloomy and rainy Good Friday. I realize that doesn't technically count as a Mass, but it's definitely enough to count for the purposes of this pilgrimage. The church is in the Oakland Beach section of Warwick; you can sort of hear how close you are to the water, and there are seagulls flying around. A lot of parishioners were there early for the service, and there was a full complement of five altar servers. The priest's homily was brief, excellent, and easy to follow. The service included the Church's Good Friday Solemn Intercessions, which the parish I grew up in never did, and which I had never heard of until a few years ago.

It's too bad that I didn't get to see the church in its normal state, with the statues uncovered. It's a little on the small side, with a very simple and straightforward layout. My favorite detail is "Ecce Agnus Dei" (behold the lamb of God) written in large letters above the tabernacle. The cry room is glassed off to one side of the sanctuary area, so the people inside are only feet away from the altar. A bunch of white flowers were already inside, ready to go to for today's Easter decorating.

Bonus Post - Saint Benedict Abbey, Still River, MA

Like St. Mary's from an earlier post, this is another wonderful monastery that you can visit whenever you want, including staying over in the guest house. A few friends and I spent a weekend here a couple of months ago. The guest house is very comfortable and feels like a big old farm house. About ten brothers live here, and they're around quite a bit when they aren't at their prayers, so it's easy to meet and get to know them. They provide all your food if you're on retreat here, and it is excellent.

You can walk around the grounds of the monastery, which include huge fields, woods, and a couple of small ponds. There is a tiny and extremely cool chapel to Our Lady of Guadalupe out in the woods, which you can access by key if you ask the brothers for it. The brothers' relic room is another major highlight. It's a beautiful room with hundreds of relics on shelves around the walls - they know the right people, and they've been able to accumulate them over the years. They have their chapter meetings and eat dessert every night in this room, hanging out with the saints while they socialize. I unfortunately don't have pictures of this room or the guest house, but I will try to make up for that when I visit again.

Like all Benedictines, these guys pray their daily set of offices in Latin. They are exceptionally good at chanting, and they sound amazing. Unlike some other Benedictines, their Mass is also mostly in Latin, and it is as solemn and beautiful of a liturgy as I've ever been to. If you'd like to learn more or visit, their website is www.abbey.org. Good for them for jumping on that URL early.

Church #111 - St. Sebastian, Providence

This parish has been doing weekday evening Masses during Lent, so I got to walk here for one a couple of weeks ago. There were a bunch of little kids playing outside as I got there, since the weather was wonderful and their Religious Ed classes had just gotten out. I remember this church from my April walks last year. It was actually unlocked in the middle of a weekday, so I got the place to myself for a little while, including a visit to the balcony.

The sanctuary area has a standard layout, and it is very clean and well cared for, which fits the parish's location in such a nice part of the city. The stained glass windows on the left side show some of the Apostles. The daily Mass area is off to the other side, which the pastor calls the "Christmas Chapel", since the stained glass shows scenes from the Christmas story. The most unusual thing about the place is the music area, which is in an enclosed space directly behind the altar.

We had a rare false start to the Mass, since the candles weren't lit as the priest processed out. It also featured one of my favorite daily Mass traditions, where most people (including myself) can't quite remember the Responsorial Psalm's refrain, and try to muddle through it as best they can. The priest was extremely friendly and gave a great, thoughtful homily about the daily readings. There were Adoration and Stations of the Cross after Mass, which I unfortunately didn't have time to stay for.

Church #110 - Immaculate Conception, Westerly

When I showed up here last Monday evening I expected a quick, normal 20-30 minute daily Mass. I found a parish mission going on with a full-blown hourlong Mass instead, including Confession. There have been several Mondays when I've meant to come here but haven't, and this is the one where I actually did. I have to admit that I found it extremely hard to be patient at first, since it's such a long drive and it was a school night, but right around the psalm I was able to settle down and be receptive to what God wanted to say to me.

Cliched as it is to say, I think I was meant to be here on this night, and it was a wonderful Mass. The mission was well attended by parishioners of all ages. It was given by a couple of priests from the Franciscans of Primitive Observance in Roxbury (http://religiouslife.com/profile-view?id=1406). I've met these guys on a couple of occasions, and they are awesome. The preaching was excellent, and there was some beautiful chant by the parish musicians. The parish mission took place Monday through Wednesday and included two Masses a day as well as extra talks and prayers during the day.

Immaculate Conception's church is modern and fairly small, surprisingly so for what seems to be a large parish. The altar area is absolutely beautiful, gold-colored and full of paintings and statues. The cry room is right off to the side of the altar, giving the people inside a front row seat to everything that's happening. I wish I'd remembered to get a picture of the view from in there.

There are clearly a lot of good things happening at this church, as shown by the turnout for the mission and the amount of activities the parish has going on. They have a perpetual adoration chapel and two (!) daily Masses. I know there's also a young adult group down here, though I've never been. Someone mentioned that a bunch of parishioners made a Total Consecration to Mary together in December.

The adoration chapel