Our Lady of Victory
60 William Street
Our Lady of Victory – what a dedication in 1947! After an immense struggle, the victorious troops had come home. The cold war was not yet fully underway. And New York’s Cardinal Spellman was at the height of his popularity and power. He embodied as did no other the union of the Catholic Church and “truth, justice and the American way.” In case anyone missed the point of the dedication, the following words of a 1946 Christmas address of the Cardinal greet the visitor entering this church:
“This Holy Shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of Victory in Thanksgiving for Victory won by our Valiant dead,
our soldier’s blood, our Country’s tears, shed to defend men’s rights and win back men’s hearts to God”
Is it possible to imagine hearing such sentiments from a prelate of the Catholic Church today? Why even the feast of Our Lady of Victory (also known as Our Lady of the Rosary) is of martial origin, commemorating the battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571 and extended to the whole Church in thanksgiving for further victories over the Moslems by the armies of the Holy Roman Empire in 1716. But I do apologize: our Holy Father has recently helpfully clarified for us in Assisi that the benighted Catholics of those times lacked “true religion” and their defense of the Faith was “the antithesis of religion.”
Perhaps the remote inspiration was certain Dutch Reformed churches of the Hudson valley. But for some nice statuary and signs, it is hard to identify as a church this building from its architecture alone. All the more so, because to save space, the rectory and other church facilities were built onto the side and above the hall of the church.
Inside, we have a severe but rather elegant neoclassical hall, a kind of Catholic meeting house. Several churches were built in this national “American” style as part of the patriotic wave of the late 30’s – 1940’s (Corpus Christi, for example). The colonial enthusiasm was of course by no means just a Catholic phenomenon – Colonial Williamsburg was going up at the same time. The furnishings are in keeping with the 18th century vision of the architects: brass chandeliers, mostly plain glass windows, very limited and unobtrusive statuary. It’s hard to judge the sanctuary, however; although boasting an elegant arch it has undergone a drastic post-conciliar renovation. In addition, when this church was built the decoration of parish churches began to assume a kind of summary or formulaic nature under the influence of the liturgical movement.
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