Sunday, January 13, 2013

A Quiet Place



St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church is a place for contemplation, 
peace and quiet. Surrounded by the more profane symbols 
of daily life - bars, restaurants, hotels, the Convention center, 
and, a bit farther south, the local cathedral of sport, Lucas Oil Stadium,
the church is a shelter from that noise. 



St. John's has seen the city grow up around it for the past 140 years.
It has served a diverse range of parishioners since it was completed in 1871, 
which ranges from the members of the local community, 
people attending conventions across the street at the Indiana Convention Center, 
and to the homeless who will find welcome shelter and assistance.



The church's twin spires stick up from the surrounding buildings,
reminding you of its presence in the heart of the city.
Over the years, I've paid it a few visits, but I am always
surprised by the silence at the core of its beauty.


6 comments:

dive said...

Oooh, American 'gothic'.
Strange (for an Englishman at any rate) to think of Victorian churches nestled in the concrete sprawl of America's cities. This one's a doozy. Well found, Speedway.

Petrea Burchard said...

Nice nice nice. And it looks like it's well kept and well loved.

Anonymous said...

And speaking of a doozy... the saying refers to the Dusenberg car (the Dusie) which was built just up the road a piece in Auburn, Indiana.
Now there is a Dusenberg Museum.

Lovely pics as always, Speedway.

Speedway said...

Hello, Dive. When the church was built the population of Indy was just over 48,000. The growth in the city led to the church quickly led to the church becoming too small.

With the exception of a few smaller incorporated towns such as Speedway, Beech Grove and Fishers, Indy has grown to encompass the entire county. At this point, I believe the Catholic population makes up about 25% of the religious representation in Indy.

Another church, Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral, was built only about 2 miles away and since 1907 has been the seat of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. I've been intending to take pictures of it, but like St. Johns, has so far always not been on my usual little rat trails.

Hi, Petrea, and thank you. The church is beautiful, full on intricate wood carving and stained glass. A separate page of its website is devoted to its organ, which was built by a local company. There are paintings of The Stations of the Cross (one of which can be seen to the right in the bottom picture, which need restoration. Two of them have been taken down, replaced with poster inviting those to may care to, to make contributions to help pay the costs
of their restoration.

Hi,f1f3, yes, the church is a doozy isn't it? Maybe Indy's growth in the 1900s was due, in part, to the burgeoning auto industry. Lunch on Wednesday?

Anonymous said...

Er, Fishers is in Hamilton County, not Marion County - like most of Indianapolis.
Yes, Lunch at the Scottish Rite on Wednesday. That provides endless Photo motives...

Speedway said...

Oops,f1f3, I wondered, but since we're all so tied together, I thought it must be a part of Metro Indy. My bad.