Solomon, I have surpassed Thee!

It may be presumptuous to compare a paint job with the building of Hagia Sophia. Yet the Basilica of St. John, Stamford (Msgr Stephen M.DiGiovanni, pastor) has accomplished a miracle of its own with the recently completed painting of the church. Thanks to the great efforts of this parish, we can now experience a complete Victorian church interior very much in accord with the doctrines of Pugin. And it is a wondrous sight! Not only is there a rich panoply of colors, but there is a clear order to this exuberance. The predominant greens and blues of the nave give way to the brighter gold, silver and red of the sanctuary. The entire interior is united by the gilt ribs and capitals of the vaults and columns.

Moreover, St. John’s has much more to offer than a magnificent color scheme – intact windows, altars, reliquaries, statues and woodwork combine to form a Victorian “total work of art.” Only one element is not fully present – the Traditional liturgy in all its richness. For it would seem elementary, having recreated with amazing fidelity the interior of this church in its 19th century glory, to proceed to the celebration of the fulness of the Extraordinary Form liturgy that inspired the creation of these works of art. Today, on Easter Sunday, a not insigniicant congregation at St. John’s attended a Traditional Low Mass – without music or servers. There is a magic to the “Murmer of the (low) Mass” (Sir Christopher Wren) that cannot be denied. Yet it would not seem too much to ask that for the main feast day of the year some music and at least one server could be provided….

Next to St. Patrick, the image of a Pope which seems to bear the features of John Paul II but holds a scroll with Pius IX’s decree proclaiming the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Strange – while parishes in Connecticut ( St. John; St. Mary, Norwalk)are painstakingly restoring the interiors of their historic churches, in the neighboring Archdiocese of New York churches having much greater artistic and historic value than these are falling into ruin or are “in play” for closure….