‘Cathedral of the south:’ Cardinal Keeler dedicates 1,200-seat church for St. Louis, Clarksville

CLARKSVILLE – When Monsignor Joseph Luca pushed open the wooden doors of the grand new church at St. Louis in Clarksville April 23, ripples of applause broke out from more than 1,400 parishioners crowded outside the building who were eagerly awaiting their chance to step inside.

Dedication day had finally arrived after nearly a decade of planning and fundraising.

“Go within his gates giving thanks,” said Cardinal William H. Keeler, who moments earlier accepted the keys and construction documents of the new building. “Enter his courts with songs of praise.”

With those words, smiling parishioners streamed into the neo-Gothic building singing a boisterous rendition of “The Church’s One Foundation.”

Joined by Archbishop William D. Borders, retired Baltimore archbishop; Bishop W. Francis Malooly, western vicar; Bishop Denis J. Madden, urban vicar; Bishop Andrew McDonald of Little Rock, Ark.; and Bishop Yves-Marie Pean of Gonaives, Haiti, worshippers marveled at what is now one of the largest churches in the archdiocese whose interior was partly inspired by San Giorgio Maggiore (St. George the Great), a 16th-century Venetian church.

Heavy morning rains gave way to bright sunshine by the time of the dedication Mass – richly illuminating nine 14-foot-tall stained glass windows that were originally commissioned for the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore.

The new Clarksville church was designed around the windows, which were removed from the basilica as part of a restoration project to bring the Baltimore church back to its original 19th-century design. Dating to the 1940s, each multi-colored basilica window depicts events of the Old Testament, events in the life of Christ and moments in the history of the Catholic Church in America. In addition to the nine major windows in the nave, 18 smaller windows from the basilica decorate the narthex of the new St. Louis Church.

In his homily, Cardinal Keeler noted St. Louis parish began more than 200 years ago in the chapel at Doughregan Manor, the home of Charles Carroll of Carrolton. Charles Carroll, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, was the cousin of Archbishop John Carroll, the first bishop of Baltimore. Charles Carroll helped write the state constitution with a guarantee of religious freedom, and joined his cousin in advocating for the U.S. Bill of Rights, Cardinal Keeler said.

“This is the reason why the windows from the Basilica of the Assumption, our nation’s first cathedral, should find a home here in Howard County, in the parish of the signer of the Declaration of Independence,” he said.

Four new rose windows, created by Artisan Glass Studios of Baltimore in the style of the basilica windows, were commissioned for the transepts of the church depicting the Holy Spirit, Christ and Mary in glory, St. Louis and an angel. Two more windows will be installed at the back of the church.

During the liturgy, Cardinal Keeler anointed the marble altar, into which he deposited relics of St. Louis, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Catherine Laboure and Mother Catherine McAuley.

Several priests – including sons of the parish – anointed the walls of the new church.

In an interview with the Catholic Review, Monsignor Luca, pastor, said the new church is a blessing for a fast-growing parish that has 65 ministries and organizations. When Monsignor Luca first came to the parish 10 years ago, there were 2,700 registered families, a number that has grown to more than 4,350.

Designed by Ziger/Snead of Baltimore and built by Whiting-Turner Contracting Company of Baltimore, the new church seats 1,200 people – nearly double what the former church could accommodate.

The cost of the new church, renovating the old church into a parish center (which is now under way), adding parking, widening a road and restoring a parish chapel, was $15 million – $12.1 million of which has already been raised, Monsignor Luca said.

The pastor said parishioners are delighted by the traditional design of the new church, which includes shrines to St. Louis, St. Mary, St. Joseph and the Pieta. A large pipe organ features more than 660 pipes and a commanding 12-foot crucifix includes a corpus of Christ modeled after a work by Michelangelo del Tacca.

Other elements of the new church include a gold tabernacle at the center of the church, Stations of the Cross, a marble pulpit and marble sanctuary steps.

“People want their churches to lift their spirits,” the pastor said. “This church does that.”

Calling the new structure the “cathedral of the south,” Cardinal Keeler said the dedication represented a “glorious occasion” in the history of the parish.

Vickie Yozwiak, St. Louis’ director of religious education, said it was “wonderful” to see the church dedicated during the Easter season.

“I’m so very anxious to see and hear the reaction of our first communicants,” she said. “I know they will be wide-eyed and full of questions.”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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