Dear Fellow Parishioners and Friends of Holy Innocents,
It’s the interrelationships between Patrick Charles Keely, his churches, and the Traditional Latin Mass that is significant in the story of Keely’s Church of the Holy Innocents in New York City, built in 1870.
Because the story is not only that Holy Innocents was built by America’s foremost Catholic architect of the 19th century. But also that Holy Innocents is Keely’s only remaining church anywhere that celebrates daily the Traditional Latin Mass, which was the spiritual and liturgical foundation of all of his churches.
In the parish-planning program, Making All Things New, the Archdiocese of New York will announce its decision in November whether or not The Church of the Holy Innocents will remain open and retain her Traditional Latin Mass.
One of the primary criteria set by the Archdiocese for determining which churches will remain open and which ones will be closed is that the church is an “active, vibrant community of faith.” That means that in addition to a church’s active liturgical, spiritual, and social outreach programs, it must sustain itself financially, and it must be structurally sound.
Holy Innocents is exemplary in all those areas, as well as in its attendance at the Traditional Latin Mass, which continues to grow, day by day, with worshippers of all ages.
It is also significant to remember that Holy Innocents is unique.
Of the estimated 600 churches in the United States and Canada, designed and built by Keely, it is the only one offering the Traditional Latin Mass daily, seven days a week, “its unique distinction,” according to Edward H. (Ted) Furey, Founder of the Keely Society and the foremost authority on Keely’s life and architecture.
When Keely built his churches, the Traditional Latin Mass was the only Mass celebrated–so it was celebrated in every single one of them. Since Vatican II, however, all that has changed. Ted Furey says, “That’s why Holy Innocents’ continuation is so important, especially due to the fact that it is in a city that is a model of resilience to the world–and a beacon of Hope!”
The remarkable fact, which invites reflection, is that Keely’s churches exist because of the Traditional Latin Mass.
As a devout Catholic, the foundation of Keely’s Faith was, as it is for all Catholics, the Eucharistic Sacrifice in the Mass. Every one of his churches is a shrine he built to that foundation of his Faith, which even affected the plan of his churches.
For example, the altar is the site of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which is why all elements in a Keely church are oriented to its altar. The architectural lines, as well as the symbolism and decoration, lead the worshipper to the altar. It’s why Keely commissioned Constantino Brumidi, Americas leading 19th century muralist, to create the mural of the Crucifixion of Christ over Holy Innocents’ main altar, the site of the un-bloody Sacrifice of Calvary.
The fact that since Vatican II, many of the altars in Keely’s churches (as well as the altars in many other Catholic churches) have been replaced, disfigured, or destroyed in keeping with the novelty that has prevailed over the past 50 years, emphasizes the unique role of the altar in the Traditional Latin Mass, which continues to be celebrated daily at Holy Innocents.
Because Keely was best known for his churches in the Gothic Revival style, he was called “The American Pugin,” after A.W.N. Pugin, the foremost Gothic Revival architect of the 19th century, for whom “The beliefs and manners of all people are embedded in the edifices they raise.”
It is Nancy’s and my hope and prayer that those who guide the parish-planning program, Making All Things New, will preserve Holy Innocents, our unique edifice in which is “embedded” the Mass and the Sacred Liturgy that sustained Patrick Charles Keely and the parishioners of his time and that continues to sustain those who worship here now.
Sincerely,
Don
Donald M. Reynolds
September 28, 2014
cc: Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop of New York
Bishop John O’Hara
Making All Things New
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