Wednesday before last was a very important day in the Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season. This picture captures the Elm Street door of St. Benedict's Catholic Church.
This church, located at 109 W. Smith Street is one of the oldest in the Diocese of Charlotte. It was first established in 1877 as St. Agnes Church. In 1899 the building in the photograph was completed and the original church structure was sold to the city of Greensboro to become its first high school. More of the interesting history is outlined on their website. Here is a bit from their site...
...while St. Benedict's was being rebuilt at the turn of the last century,
"a wealthy Philadelphia woman, Katherine Drexel, founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, was working to distribute her fortune to benefit African Americans. Drexel learned of the building project and gave St. Benedict's Church $1,500 for a new church, with the condition that one of the four rows of pews be reserved for African Americans."
Saint Katherine Drexel was canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II. If you attend this church, it would be interesting to know if this pew is still reserved or to learn more about the diversity of the congregation..........
Very nice shot, I like the harmonious lines and colours.
Posted by: cieldequimper | Sunday, March 08, 2009 at 07:43 AM
That's a lovely story about St. Katherine Drexel. And it looks like a lovely church too. If you find out the answer to your own question, tell us too, okay?
I hope the answer is yes, they still reserve the pews. And, of course, I'm wondering if other races, including Caucasians, react negatively to it.
Posted by: Hilda | Sunday, March 08, 2009 at 11:21 AM
nice details. well done. I like architectural details.
Posted by: julie scottsdaledailyphoto.com | Sunday, March 08, 2009 at 01:35 PM
Thanks dear,it's interesting for me to see other cities of the world everyday via this great website too.
This is really beautiful church, i like its red bricks :)
unfortunately, i couldnt find that MP3 file you said :(
would you comment it's link in my blog?
Posted by: Amir | Sunday, March 08, 2009 at 05:22 PM
Very pretty. I like architectural details too! :-D
Posted by: mary stebbins Taitt | Monday, March 09, 2009 at 09:26 AM