Before the Second Vatican Council, the normal way for a Catholic to receive the Eucharist was for him to kneel at an altar rail at the front the church and receive on the tongue. Altar rails were sometimes plain, sometimes very ornate – but they were a predictable part of many...
When you think of beautiful buildings in Washington D.C., you might think of the National Mall, the Episcopalian National Cathedral, or even the great Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. But after you read this, you might think of a church you previously didn’t even...
If the Hobbits in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings had built churches, they probably would have built them like this! In Iceland, they used to build what’s called “turf churches.” That is, churches made of wood and stone and covered with dirt and grass....
Having been to hundreds of churches in my many years of travel I have only recently figured out this unique style of photographing and capturing the inner beauty of their interiors. Finding the perfect location in the center aisle then shooting vertically from the pew to the back of the...
Christianity in Europe is dying, and has been for some time. Churches are empty, they can’t be maintained, and so more and more are being sold or abandoned. Some of them end up demolished, while others are simply converted to some secular use. While some of these uses are...
You won’t see it on any tour. It’s not open to the public. Few people even know it exists. I’m talking about the “Congressional Prayer Room” in the U.S. Capitol building in Washington DC, a room set aside as a private and quiet place for Congressmen...
