Before and After: St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Mason, Texas

Our friends over at Studio io informed us of a project they undertook (in collaboration also with Murals by Jericho) at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mason, Texas.  The church itself was actually quite old and quaint, as can be seen here in this photo below of the exterior, made as it is from beautiful, locally sourced stone.


However, as the story so often goes in the new world, it too fell prey to the fads and trends of the liturgists of the second half of the twentieth century. Studio io sets some of the background for us:

St. Joseph Catholic Church was originally constructed in 1876 of local red sandstone on a hilltop just west of the town center in historic Mason, TX. The church, which featured a vaulted beadboard ceiling painted by a parishioner in the early 1900s in imitation of the Spanish baroque style, was expanded in the 1960s, a change which removed the apse wall to extend the nave by adding a crossing, two small transepts, and an expanded sanctuary with a connected sacristy. This renovation also saw the introduction of terrazzo floors and acoustical ceiling tiles that covered the painted vault until it was rediscovered by accident in 1989, now being fully restored by Murals by Jericho and matched uniformly across the entirety of the vault, with the Trinity image moved above the new location of the altar. Pendant lighting was also added to replace old fluorescent cove lighting, and storefront glass was removed to join the Our Lady of Guadalupe chapel to the nave. In this chapel and on an adjacent wall is located a custom reliquary and statue of Blessed Stanley Rother. Additional relics are also located beneath the altar.

New sanctuary furnishings by Little Way Construction including a reredos with antique crucifix, altar, ambo, side shrines, baptismal font, and ambry were designed in wood to complement the country gothic character of the church, along with hand painted detailing by Stabat Mater Foundation inspired by the Victorian era of the church’s original construction to highlight St. Joseph as patron (lily) and the tree of life and 12 apostles as a theme for the sanctuary. All liturgical appointments and metalwork were replaced with a combination of new and restored antique pieces in keeping with the character of the church. The entrance to the church also was renovated, with a new narthex wall, confessional, and rebuilt choir loft and balcony wall. The statue of St. Joseph is newly acquired and also a restored antique piece that dates to the same year the original church was constructed, with custom themed stencil work as a background. Additional functional upgrades included waterproofing of the interior plaster walls, pew replacement, and a distributed sound system to negate the need for absorptive materials.

With all that in mind, let's take a look at the previous version of this church.

BEFORE:


And here, the after, which picks up on the theme of Tudor gothic arches, opening up the space in the area of the transepts. 

AFTER:


Of particular note is the new altar and reredos


Finally, a quick look at one of the new shrines found to either side of the high altar.  One will also note here how colour and stencilling have been used to give the church a greater sense of interior ornamentality where, architecturally, it is otherwise quite plain. 


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