As part of my research for the show, I try to keep up with blogs that post about Catholic art and architecture. I thought I’d share some of them with you.
Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has a really cool blog called Haec Est Domus Domini which I believe means “This is the House of God.” (Correct me if I’m wrong!) The cathedral is in the midst of being renovated, and this blog tells you all the amazing things they’re doing to make is glorious. They’ve been doing a lot of stencil work lately, and I’m just blown away by the colors and detail. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when they’ve finished!
Rome of the West is Mark Scott Abeln’s beautiful website, in which he displays some gorgeous photos of Catholic St. Louis, which was once called the”Rome of the West”. His photography really inspires me, so do check this blog out. He’s also got a new book coming out soon that I totally have to buy…
Shrine of the Holy Whapping is just an overall amazing site, with some brilliant writing by Notre Dame alum Dan, Emily, Matthew, and Drew. Matthew is a graduate of ND’s Architecture School, and he frequently posts some very insightful (and sometimes completely over my head) articles and photos about Catholic churches and architecture.
Goddogz is an awesome site kept up by Dominican students at Blackfriar’s (Priory of the Holy Spirit) in Oxford, England. This site includes a lot of great posts, but one of the Goddogz, Brother Lawrence Lew, OP, is a fantastic photographer, and he often posts some of his amazing photos here, and at his Flicker photostream.
I love their explanation of the site’s name, Goddogz:
The name ‘Dominican’, although derived from the name of our holy father and Founder, St Dominic, is also a pun on the Latin phrase “Domini canes” which means ‘Dogs of the Lord.’
This was itself based on a dream which St Dominic’s mother, Blessed Juana de Aza, had in 1170 when she was pregnant: she saw a black and white dog with a torch in its mouth setting the world ablaze. This was interpreted to refer to St Dominic and his spiritual children, the Dominican Order – in their black and white habits – whose preaching brings the light of Gospel truth to shine upon and inflame the world with divine love.
New Liturgical Movement is a site where you can find both Matthew and Brother Lawrence, and a slew of other interesting articles and commentaries about Sacred Liturgy and Liturgical Arts. And loads of really cool photos, both original and historical.
And last, for your all-around everything Catholic news, including frequent posts about churches and shrines, check out fellow Philadelphian Rocco Palmo’s Whispers in the Loggia. He’s a great place to keep up on everything Catholic.
There are a whole bunch of other blogs I read, but I’ll save those for another time.