Friday, September 25, 2009

What Is Wrong With This Picture?


One word: ridiculous.

Rome is no longer the place for cardboard altars held together with rivetheads.  The year is 2009. 

The worst such altars in Rome can be seen at the Basilica of Sant' Andrea della Valle (thank the Chierici Regolari Teatini).

11 comments:

  1. I don't remember... is Saint Andrea della Valle the church where the image of Our Lady of the Miracle is? Or is that St. Andrea della Fratte? I think it is della Valle. I remember in our 2007 pilgrimage they were doing renevations to the main altar and side chapels. Is THIS the aftermath?? How sickening!

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  2. ...besides, there's a perfectly serviceable Altar behind it!!!

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  3. One letter: I. The altar is a wide "I".

    Ah, los teatinos...

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  4. Maybe that's why the Theatin Order has barely 150 members!

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  5. m_hyland: you're thinking of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, which is up near the Spanish Steps and is where St Maximilian offered his first Mass (at the altar of Our Lady of the Miracle). This is Sant'Andrea della Valle, right on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, south of Piazza Navona.

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  6. Ouch. That one should be immediately restored to the use it was apparently designed for -- as the smorgasbord table at the Klingon Embassy. Who in the world could have thought a thing like that was a decent match for the interior of S. Andrea??

    Mind you, I can think of one argument in favour of these low altars that either don't go with the rest of the sanctuary architecture, or that are ludicrously flimsy in construction (the one in our parish church is both, being -- literally -- a parlour table). And that is that nothing could do a better job of conveying the message that the thing is unnecessary, out of place, and has no business being there at all. Res ipsa loquitur.

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  7. I think It's a X altar.
    The point is to be reminiscent of St Andrew's Cross (It's in St Andreas Basilica). St Andrew was crucified with an X cross (sorry for the explanation)

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  8. Another gem from Vatican II....destined in time for the garbage can.

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  9. "m_hyland: you're thinking of Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, which is up near the Spanish Steps and is where St Maximilian offered his first Mass (at the altar of Our Lady of the Miracle). This is Sant'Andrea della Valle, right on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, south of Piazza Navona."

    Oh yes! Thank you. OK, I know exactly which church you're talking about. The large mural of Saint Andrew on the cross is behind the main altar. Also, the relic of St. Giuseppe Tomassi's incorrupt body is located on the right side of the church adjacent to the main altar. I get these two churches mixed up, although I know each of them well. The names are what gets me. Thank you Joannie for helping me get my bearings.

    Back to topic, it is unfortunate that St. Giuseppe, the founder of the Theatines (if my memory serves me correctly), must be insulted by this hideous modern altar in St. Andrew's church. I suppose ad orientem is out of the question for the Theatines... I wonder what Pope Benedict would think of that...

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  10. It is time to remove this. It does not even match the rest of the Sanctuary. I think most people in the parish would not mind if it was gone.

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