Hartford Pew Review: Cathedral of Saint Joseph
I can see its steeple from my bedroom; because the cross (25′) is something like 280′ off the ground, and on a hill, I’m sure many readers of this blog also have a similar view; those who don’t have no doubt noticed it anyway while traveling on Farmington Avenue. The building is imposing.
On this Sunday, I crossed the mighty Aetna viaduct to visit the Cathedral of Saint Joseph. I mention this because both structures were built in the same era and show themselves to be exquisite examples of “Cold War construction”: bleak, with an abundance of concrete.
It was not always this way. The current church opened in 1962, replacing another that had burned down in 1956. What we have today is an uninviting structure, and that’s a shame, because the artwork inside is rather opposite. The enormous stained glass windows create rainbows, which to someone unfamiliar with Church politics, might seem like a celebration of New York’s entry into modern times. The stained glass windows are Parisian in origin, but the organ came from Hartford’s Austin Organs.
The music filled the space. The organ music before mass was absolutely jarring; it did not feel spiritual nor relaxing; thankfully, the actual mass music was calmer.
I was greeted in a polite, but not particularly friendly manner, by the man handing out bulletins. He was the first and the only person to smile at me during the entire 105 minutes I was inside the building. The “passing of peace” was hands-off, with people flashing peace signs. No smiles. The day’s mass was titled “The Solemnity of Corpus Christi,” and parishioners had mastered solemnity. There were no announcements for coffee, nothing in the bulletin, and nothing on the website. As soon as the service was over, people went directly to their cars (or the bus stop). I milled about the entrance-way for a few moments and nobody came over to mention coffee, nor to ask if I was new.
I was expecting that, but for other reasons. Before arriving, I learned from the website that the Cathedral of Saint Joseph seats 1750 people. That’s impressive. I expected the anonymity that comes with large crowds. Instead, nobody paid attention, even though there were, at most, 60 parishioners that morning.
As I selected a pew, I was struck by how massive the structure felt. There is a ceramic tile mural behind the altar which — at 80 ft.tall and 40 ft. wide — dwarfs anyone and anything in front of it. Enormous stars hang from the ceiling. Images are even on the limestone columns. The pews themselves were the only objects not decorated, but a few missals were left on each.
As it turns out, I would have about ten empty pews in front of me, and I was not seated in the very last row.
Waiting for the mass to begin, I noticed that nobody was really chatting. Even the children were sitting still. Because of this, it was not apparent exactly when everything began because no telling hush fell over the church.
As a whole, the mass felt disorganized. None of the speakers introduced themselves; the pastoral staff were all named in the bulletin, but this was a general list, not specific to Sunday’s mass. When a church has multiple leaders, the norm seems to be to either introduce the one for that day or specify (usually) him in the song sheet. I did some internet sleuthing and sought help from somebody who has spent substantial time in Catholic churches– with all that, I could only narrow it down to two possibilities for who led Sunday’s mass. Additionally, there were awkward pauses which were not moments of prayer, or, rather, I do not believe they were intended as such.
Sermon
Longest. Sermon. Ever.
The leader-whose-name-I-do-not-know had a style that was neither linear nor circular. The content was interesting, but the organization was random, at best.
Let me back up. The scripture readings were clear: people given manna, Jesus saying people will live forever if they eat his flesh and drink his blood, and those who do this are one with God. Got all that? I thought I did. But the sermon? Connections between that and the scripture were nebulous.
The leader-whose-name-I-do-not-know began by naming the top three female philosophers of the first half of the twentieth century, and noted that all three were Jewish, though two of them later converted to Catholicism. He never said why he found them to be such “luminous thinkers” as he put it, but described parts of their lives in so much detail that I thought his point was something about females and philosophy. In this talk, he threw in mention of Husserl and phenomenology, which he followed by stating that Catholics do not believe in phenomenology because they are “realists”. When most sermons would be wrapping up, he then focused on Simone Weil.
He spoke about the holocaust and how Weil apparently wanted to become a martyr by dying alongside her fellow Jews. She attended a Catholic church, yet never converted. The details of this are fuzzy to me because the leader kept interrupting his own story with tangents about other people, like Husserl and the Pope. In the end, Weil refused to eat more than those in concentration camps were allowed to eat and died in a hospital. He failed to mention that she was considered an anarchist and sent to a sanatorium. Briefly, during all of this, he read from Weil’s essay “The Love of God and Affliction.” By this point, the tangent had gone on for so long that it was hard to connect this to the scripture.
What’s more, the talk also veered into discussion of executions in Tunisia and included a small rant about the “secular media.” Later, after a beautiful song that I thought signaled the end of mass, the leader began talking again, making another remark about the “secular media” and how Hollywood is “not the real Los Angeles.” His example of a mother holding an infant in church was the picture of true Los Angeles, which had absolutely nothing that I could think of to do with the day’s message.
meh
Strong points: The stained glass windows create a gorgeous effect inside and the sheer enormity of the structure is impressive. The woman singing (I’d use her name if she was given props verbally or in bulletin) hit every note. This was the most racially diverse group of parishioners I’d seen: Asian, Hispanic, black, white…you name it. Every age range was covered too. It’s centrally located and home to the Archdiocese of Hartford. I was not offended during the mass. The leader dude was interesting to listen to, but…
Weak points:
…if you’re interested in a succinct and clear message, it’s not going to be found here, or at least not from this leader. No coffee. No warmth, no sense of community among congregation. Not visitor-friendly. There’s an ad for Birthright volunteer opportunities in the bulletin and other literature included photos from a March for Life that they participated in.
The Cathedral of Saint Joseph is located at 140 Farmington Avenue, in Asylum Hill. They have ample parking and are on a bus line that features regular service. There was no bike rack near the entrance or front of building; after 105 minutes I was drained of curiosity and did not snoop around the back to locate a bike rack.
Great review. I’ve only ever been to the Cathedral for special occasions, either midday Ash Wednesday, when a flood of office workers makes their way across the street to get their Lent on, or the Black History Month Mass, when the music and the Kente cloth, uniforms and energy raise the warmth, attendance and the feel to a sensory level approaching that of those massive stained glass windows. That said, the only time I’ve seen the Cathedral really full and warm and alive enough to overwhelm the space was during the interdenominational service held there right after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
I get that a cathedral should be a large and imposing place, but the 1950s modernism that gave us appealing cars and industrial designs doesn’t translate to a soul-calming space, at least not for me. Also the structure toward the back of the altar looks like a War of the Worlds tripod.
“to get their Lent on.”
I’m really enjoying this series, Kerri – and the comments.
And now, I have in my head, “get your Lent on, Get your Lent on, get get get get get your Lent on”
Thanks for your response. I also found the structure you speak of to look alien.
This sounds like the standard type of Catholic mass that I was raised with, in Vermont.
105 minutes, lordy lordy. The sermon sounds like a real snoozer with not even the whiff of fresh brewed coffee for all of that. Someone told me you have to go to a church with a lot of Swedes. They have coffee hour which I remember was a highlight of my younger church going days. Swedish coffee buns yum, yum. No need to eat at home, Mrs. Olsen’s coffee cake is out of this world.
Now back to St. Joes. My goodness I would be drained right down to the soles of my shoes sitting in that pew. Glad it was you in the pew and not me as after all of that, that I would have to go home and take a good scrub in the tub and a nice long nap. The few times I have been in that church I have felt that Gd was very big and far removed from the people.
Amongst the things I don’t allow to play around in my life are 1. Politicians in my home (real deal or T.V.) 2. Straights telling me which way is up. 3. The Catholic Hierarchy telling me what is right and what is wrong or telling me anything at all for that matter.
Love you reviews Kerri, can’t wait for next week.
I thought of going home to sleep. Instead, I went straight to another service at a different church. It was utterly draining, but good in a compare/contrast way.
I am hearing rumors that Asylum Hill CC has lemonade in the summer.
Who were the other two Philosophers?
I knew you were going to ask! Honestly, I had never heard of them, he said their names once or twice, and that combination meant I forgot about five seconds after I heard them. You can name every Jewish female philosopher you know and I can say if it sounds familiar or not
Was one Edith Stein? She was a jew who became a Catholic and a Carmelite nun. Sister Benedicte of the Cross or Edith Stein died at Auschwitz in 1942.
Name 3 Jewish women philosphers we’re stuck. Name 3 men I bet most of us can. Another case of Herstory hidden from us the people?
Possibly.
My list of top female philosophers didn’t quite line up with his. In my head, I kept asking, “What about Simone de Beauvoir?”
Oh yes, Simone de Beauvoir. I would have to add Emma Goldman and Rosa Luxemburg. Real deal thought into action but hardly Catholic icons.
I thought maybe Hannah Arendt. She was a secular jew, but I don’t think she ever converted. Quite a good thinker, though.
She was definitely not among them.