Photos of Sacred Heart Church, in Springfield, Illinois

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Sacred Heart Church, in Springfield, Illinois, located about 97 highway miles north-by-northeast of downtown Saint Louis. Together with Saint Patrick’s, also in Springfield, this church is a part of the Saint Katharine Drexel Parish of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.Sacred Heart Parish was organized in 1884, while the Gothic Revival church dates from 1895. At the time of this church’s founding, the episcopal see of this diocese was in Alton, Illinois. Originally a German parish, the church now celebrates the Holy Mass in English and Spanish. According to the Diocese, the combined parish includes 480 parishioners in 290 families.The church features finely carved wood altars.These are the first photos here taken with a new camera; this, coupled with new computer software, allows for a far more subtle — and theoretically, more visually accurate — rendering of colors; however, because of my inexperience with this new technology, there is a bit of inconsistency among the photos.The freestanding altar depicts the Last Supper, while the Annunciation is depicted in the stained glass window. The reredos provides a great backdrop and a setting for the tabernacle.A closer view of the tabernacle, flanked by angels — a configuration inspired by the original Ark of the Covenant of the Old Testament — with a small Crucifix above and a symbol of the Sacred Heart of Jesus below. As the heart is a symbol of love, the thorns around the heart illustrate how our sins wound God’s love for us.Located to the right of the altar, here are statues of the Infant Jesus and the Virgin of Guadalupe.The altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary is on the left.A view to the left aisle; here we see the Stations of the Cross and some of the stained glass windows.Above the Gothic arches in the nave are paintings of the offices of Christ; here we see Christ the Priest.A holy water font.Address:730 South Twelfth StreetSpringfield, IL 62703