St Catherine Parishioners Occupy Their New Edifice In Several Crowded Services.
NORWOOD, Dec 25—The formal openings of the new St Catherine’s church at Norwood, Mass, occurred today, the first mass being celebrated by the rector, Rev Thomas J. MacCormack, at 6 am, the high mass by Rev John M. Corrigan, assistant priest. At all the masses was read a letter of congratulation from Archbishop O’Connell.
Fr MacCormack, also conveyed the special blessing of the pope, by permission given personally to the rector by the holy father last summer. The church was filled at all the masses. The music was rendered by the regular choir. Miss Frances Hennessey, organist. At the high mass the sermon was by Rev James Maguire SJ, of Boston college. Vesper service was held in the evening.
REV THOMAS J. MacCORMACK, Rector of St Catherine’s Church, Norwood.
The church is one of the handsomest in the country, well located in the center of the town at the corner of Washington and Nahatah sts. The architectural style is designed to solve the parochial church problem of being both economical and artistic. The English perpendicular treatment of structural masses makes an ecclesiastical type of architecture that is seriously beautiful and compelling, possessing picturesque variety and sturdy vitality of construction.
St Catherine’s church has been thus modeled, avoiding cheap appeal through extraneous ornamentation; shaping the lines modestly adhering to the sound laws of proportion illustrated in the best medieval churches. The historical standard is especially evident in the Interior. The structural lines »e in beautiful masonry with carved capitals of varied form, yet keeping the cost of the building much lower than Is usually allowed for churches of the same magnitude.
The church will seat 1050 and there is also a morning chapel opening on Nahatan st, to be known as the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and seating 200. It is so disposed in reference to the main church that the chancel of each is accessible directly from the large sacristy.
One of the unique features of the new church is the location of the tower, which is built directly over the chancel walls and rises to a considerable hlght above the nave roof. The proportions of the tower are unusually massive.
The termination of the external lines of the structure, a slender fleche of copper supporting the cross, rises from the center of the square tower, examples of which are frequently found in French and English churches. The building is constructed of gray Roman brick with Indiana limestone trimmings.