The Top 10 Ugliest Catholic Churches In America

[@howtubeable]

Brutalism and Deconstructivism. The words themselves say harsh and unforgiving.

[@RPlavo]

And our bishops have been iconoclastic in closing the older churches!…abandoning them

[@MaryHoffman-f9e]

I like the older churches better than the newer ones.

[@terriseaton3049]

Concrete, straight lines, apathy

[@blaisemacpherson7637]

Ok, my childhood church was st Elizabeth's in Buffalo creek Colorado. Log building on the river in the middle of nowhere. So beautiful I'm it's own way. Look it up.

[@tootsieperezpungot1513]

Majority of Catholic churches here in the Philippines are bringing back the baroque or gothic style retablo and altars…

[@maryglatz5518]

out with the new on with the old, bring back CATHOLIC TRADITION. Where the gates of hell will not prevail Praise be to JESUS AND MARY. A VERY BLESSED AND HOLE CHRISTMAS TO ALL.

[@well9179]

But mostly old, even St. Joseph Cathedral in Pontianak, Indonesia are better than any new church in the Philippines.

[@jamestabang3300]

I have seen many Philippine Catholic churches online, and almost all i have seen are indeed beautiful and not too gaudy or showy. I like how they preserve the original church design whenever the church suffers severe damage due to natural disasters. There is one chapel, however, in Negros Occidental colloquially called the "Angry Christ Church". It is the worst I have seen so far. There is no retablo or reredos at the sanctuary; only a glaring painting at the sanctuary wall depicting Jesus in excessively vivid colors. What's more, on top of Jesus is a very large All-Seeing Eye; the symbol is unfortunately associated now with Freemasonry. The artwork doesn't evoke feelings of sacredness. I am just wondering why the diocese of that specific chapel does not do anything about it.

[@jeromemendiogarin6279]

Middle Ages Catholic Cathedral is the most Beautiful Architecture.

[@terriseaton3049]

Even the old wood or brick buildings are charming.

[@corinnecavanagh3047]

I love St. John's Abbey Church, but I could tell before you said that Breuer designed St. Francis de Sales in Michigan.

[@amitisshahbanu5642]

one of them

[@kjmav10135]

Built on the broken backs of poor, suffering European peasants . . . So-that’s the ugly part.

[@kjmav10135]

How unfortunate that all the good in Vatican II also lines up with one of the ugliest eras of architecture. I mean-many of these are just gross! But there is something to be said for pushing the altar into the midst of the community.

[@jamesmitzner353]

If you removed the Cross on the top of these Church's and put a food court in front -- people would think they're at a Costco

[@jimh4072]

When I was a kid in 1970s Ireland a new church was built near where we lived, when we looked at the new building the kids all thought it was a new supermarket. 😂

[@gerardooporta6282]

​@@jimh4072🤦🏼🤷🏼

[@misterb1897]

Sad that so many people in positions of power lacked any sense of beauty. I have a church near me that looks like it just landed from mars.

[@MG-es2no]

🤣

[@terriseaton3049]

All the taste is in their mouths.

[@ryanhilliard1620]

It was done intentionally to uninspire the faithful and religious to stop being inspired, stop loving God and then stop receiving the Sacraments and to lost their holy vocations.

[@MG-es2no]

One of the most beautiful churches,I ever saw was "THE IRISH CATHREDRAL" AKA ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH in Cleveland. Too bad it HAD to be demolished.😢

[@GavinStewartWeir]

It is very unfortunate that the Catholic Church in the USA fell for the concrete conceit of modernist architecture. In many countries this type of architecture is viewed as hideous blots on the landscape.

[@brianrichardcohn2159]

I understand that the U.S.A., regardless of denomination, seems to have many nice churches. Put many in the picture. Greetings from Sweden. :)

[@wxyz4909]

Please pray for Christan in India we are persecuted here in the name of foreign funding......

[@fkong94]

Sorry dear,,,, may the blood of our Lord purify those with hardened hearts in the might name of Lord Jesus Christ 🙏

[@Showastatism4life]

What are they doing?

[@josephtacitus9400]

@@Showastatism4life en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_against_Christians_in_India

[@markomib]

So - you think prayer works, but instead of praying that your god finally stop child rape, end starvation, or even just extinct mosquitoes - its no, let me be free to inflict my imaginary friend beliefs on others without blowback. stop for just one moment and consider 1. how evil and selfish that is and 2. that if your god yawns with indifference at child rape and the holocaust, why would he intervene with the "free will" of people in India, for you? (and save all your "sky daddy isn't evil, people are" apologetics. your imaginary friend loves free will too much to intervene - who's free will? obviously not the child being rapped and murdered, he chose a free will side, and it was the rapists). BTW, your own bible commands you in Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray [in public] to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray..." and yet here you are, flagrantly disobeying this command of your god. typical "christian", cherry pick, ignore what you don't like, and then claim how righteous and persecuted you are for it. Plus, the absurdity of your imaginary friend knows you're being "persecuted" right? But he's not going to do anything about it, until you what....get enough literal FB likes? Until you TELL your god what to do, cuz he don't know no better?? grow up.

[@christianusacross5084]

Please move to the United States We need more Christians anyway!

[@williamcleland]

More than architecture, I lament the demise of classical education in the United States.

[@glennso47]

Classical education seems to have gone downhill along with classical architecture and classical music etc.

[@SouthernMama2five]

Yes, they all go hand in hand.

[@sam-fp1hy]

Use your real voice. It doesn't matter if you have an accent, this AI text-to-speech is garbage.

[@josephknight1393]

And the bishops still pay millions in research trying to understand why the Catholic Church is on crisis. This video says it all.

[@edwardbaker1331]

Lacking faith themselves, they do not understand that truth, because it comes exclusively from God, is immutable and eternal and should be reflected in liturgy and architecture.

[@BG-sl9lv]

Architecture is not the problem.

[@edwardbaker1331]

@@BG-sl9lv Everything is the problem. Corruptions of the soul are reflected in all endeavors.

[@ivansusec2718]

It my not be The problem, but it certainly is a symptom of The problem.

[@g_br]

@@BG-sl9lv It is.

[@boldizsarszefcsik2135]

I'm a huge Baroque fan, that's my favorite style. But I don't think, that these churches weren't made with devotion and prayer. These are also beautiful, just a little bit different than the older ones we are used to know. You won't find anything in these modern churches which would make them inappropriate to be the house of God if we follow the teachings of the Holy See.

[@GardenerTobak]

Bring back the traditional beautiful designs, like the cathedrals.

[@cristiancaiola9588]

Now do the most beautiful cathedrals & churches in the USA.

[@fallenkingdom-zd8xh]

Hoping they include my parish: St. Joseph Catholic Church in Bowling Green KY.

[@purely_catholic]

I’ve done that video… and the most beautiful Catholic Churches in the world. I live near Chicago and there’s no shortage of incredible churches…

[@michael_jolls]

@@purely_catholic same! (Only problem is the Archdiocese seems hell-bent on closing as many of them as possible).

[@glennso47]

@@purely_catholicThe most beautiful churches in the USA? That video ought to go about a minute and a half.

[@Ceylin_Kurtbogan]

According to Apostolic church tradition where we get all doctrine ultimately, Churches are supposed to represent the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. (yes that includes the building itself) That is why we have an altar in the sanctuary and holy imagery everywhere to celebrate the Mass with all the Saints in Heaven above. Therefore if when I look at a building if I can't immediately recognize it as a church, you did your job wrong. Worship is not only in attendance. To be able to worship with all your spirit(heart), you must elevate all 5 of your senses with sight being a pretty important one...

[@Ceylin_Kurtbogan]

Taste: We consume the Body and Blood of Christ to be one with him in that very moment. As becoming One with him is the only salvation since there is no Mediator between us and God but Christ who himself is God. Smell: We smell incense throughout the liturgy and offer Christ a mix of myrrh and frankincense inside a golden censer (forgot their Latin name, I am Orthodox) since these are the gifts Magi offered to God's salvation on the day of his Birth before worshipping him. Hearing: We hear sacred music sanctified by the Church which is the liturgical chants such as Byzantine/Gregorian etc to elevate our hearts and pray the psalms with more intend. Sight: We look at beautiful design and Holy Imagery which is created for representing the spiritual truths existing in heaven above. We try to make everything look like it is heaven on earth (to the best of our ability) Touch: We cross ourselves for blessings, kneel, prostrate in various parts of the Liturgy to utilize our touch sense and more broadly to move our entire bodies. Remove them and you slow by slow lose all spirituality. Today I see a big decline in spirituality in Latin church. Everything seems to be too rationalistic and also political.

[@marietta1335]

@@Ceylin_Kurtbogan "We smell incense throughout the liturgy and offer Christ a mix of myrrh and frankincense inside a golden censer (forgot their Latin name, I am Orthodox)..." Oh my, that's so thurible!

[@brucealanwilson4121]

Personally, I like most ofcthese.

[@danielmaher7108]

Orthodox churches have kept that "Apostolic church tradition".

[@brucealanwilson4121]

@@Ceylin_Kurtbogan Thurable.

[@marykeegan2606]

During a visit to LA about 10 or so years ago, i was privileged to attend mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. I particularly loved the saints tapestries. It looked as though the saints were on a journey to the altar, ready to embrace the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. All the saints are looking towards the altar on their journey. While many people may find fault with its design, it has its own beauty. Also, the Christ Cathedral in Orange County (used to be Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral), was purchased by the diocese because it was actually less expensive to renovate the building to be in line with Catholic worship needs, than it would be to construct an entire new building.

[@racheldavin7763]

Yes...as an ex-Protestant, I consider us buying & taking over Schuller's Crystal Cathedral as kind of a triumph. As such I don't care if it's ugly.

[@murrayaronson3753]

Been there a number of times for various events. I do not consider the Cathedral ugly.

[@manga12]

it has a few redeaming features, and record breaking notes about it but, the alabaster windows, the huge altar the retablo in the crypt church the concreat thats supposed to last 400 years they say, it has no right angles in it at all they say, but there is a reason some called it the taj mahoney, the composit version of our lady many are not happy with, it has no corpus on the main cross and the tapistries were printed done by computer not by hand, and its stark looking I like the more traditional look even a sparten franciscan church that had a home built altar and a couple of statues looked like a basilica in decoration compaired to the cathedral of L A, it had a simplicity, but it had a certain richness and noble simplicity to it and the little chaple they built out of brick had a slightly colorful but steadfast character to it built to purpose but not made ugly only made natural looking.

[@murrayaronson3753]

@@racheldavin7763 The former Crystal Cathedral is a good piece of contemporary modern architecture. Tastes differ. Some people like rococo. The architect was Philip Johnson who I think was not a Christian. He also designed a synagogue somewhere which is strange as he was a Nazi sympathizer before America entered the war.

[@c.rutherford]

I grew up Catholic in the 80s and our church was one of those modern ones,..... it looked like a big round swooping bowl that shot up the center to a big vertical tube, topped by a crooked skylight. The altar was a plain slab of white rock. It was all really modern looking and simple. Years later when I first saw a what I would call a real Catholic Cathedral church, traditional style with all the sculpture and marble pillars, vaulted ceilings and impressiveness I was just floored at how beautiful it all was. I hate to say it but I would have been a lot more interested in the whole idea of religion as a kid I think if my church had looked like one of those. They were so much more inspiring.

[@JohnPaulRogalski]

The seventh photo of the round church with the round baptistry in front is St. Michael Catholic Church in Biloxi, Mississippi. It is a beautiful Church with stained glass windows from the floor to the ceiling. It is called the fisherman's Church and reflects the livelihood of parishioners in the seafood industry. It is a wonderful place to pray and meditate with the light pouring in from the Gulf of Mexico. It is a spectacular architecture gem.

[@baileez821]

Wasn't the original building wiped out by Hurricane Katrina? I remember attending mass at a Catholic church on Beach Blvd. before the hurricane, but I couldn't remember if it was in Biloxi or Gulfport.

[@jgesselberty]

Ugly is ugly, no matter how you slice it. What they created were warehouses and theaters when thy should have been creating spaces that uplifted and glorified God.

[@shirleyvaughn3231]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, for sure! Some of these buildings don't impress me at all in their exterior form/design, but most had beautiful interiors with a lot of light, reminiscent of Christ, the Light of the World.

[@brianbacon5149]

+JMJ They look like city hall auditoriums more than altars of Holy Sacrifice. They highlight inanity, banality, dissonance and brutalism. They mock God and in doing so undermine human dignity and hope of salvation.

[@thomasmcloughlin2444]

The interior of St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco is beautiful, especially the baldacchino (canopy) over the altar. The photo you use of the old Cathedral is actually Old St. Mary’s on California Street. It was the first Cathedral in San Francisco. The second Cathedral was on Van Ness and burned to the ground. It was replaced by the new Cathedral. I think the Oakland Cathedral is beautiful, especially the interior.

[@baileez821]

St. Mary's is ugly on the outside. Inside, there are sweeping views of the city from the sanctuary. You could see the old Sacred Heart Church which, last I heard, was turned into a skating rink.

[@takcleberry]

There is no ugly Catholic Church

[@FullOfMalarky]

Of course their are ugly church buildings

[@artifexdei3671]

Yeah these architects are very creative - concrete bunkers, bare walls, weird angles and shapes - cold, off-putting, sci-fi looking - none of these structures attract people to an encounter with God.

[@howardoller443]

@artifexdei3671 - What a total subjective and feelings-based take on faith. If it takes a building to attract someone to an encounter with God, then their desire to know Him is superficial and ignorant of His holy Word and His love for us.

[@artifexdei3671]

@howardoller443 really, if you want to attract people to engage in the venture - do you attract them based on appealing standards or crap? Do car manufacturers attract buyers by certain features in the vehicles that are appealing or not? Do people go to shopping to nice looking malls or run down decrepit and failing shopping centre's? Do nice cities attract residents or people move to run-down areas rife with crime and degeneracy? Praying in a bare concrete bunker vs. nicely ornated and warm interior makes an experience positive or negative. Perhaps there are some that don't pay any attention to building esthetics but people are drawn to beauty in all areas of life, and that means sacred spaces too.

[@howardoller443]

​@@artifexdei3671 You just don't get it. You are focusing way too much on the superficial, rather than what is deep and meaningful, as proven by you using an analogy of selling a car and equating a relationship with the Lord as a "venture". There are people all over the world who don't have aesthetically-pleasing houses of worship, but their faith is strong. Get your head straight by reading the Bible. You'll eventually realize the error of your thinking.

[@rallegra]

“Focusing on the altar and the congregation” And that’s a bad thing? You’d hate the mid century modern one I attend. Many of these churches were built in the 60’s and 70’s I think we can get over it by now.

[@freshbrewedasmr3378]

I’m making a miniature Baroque Church complete with real marble, wood, frescos, silver, gold, and precious gems and pearls, and also real relics inside, in hopes to silently say that beautiful Churches can still be built

[@calebnwafor2549]

Please 🙏 post the process on KZbin.

[@jeannerogers7085]

Yes, and miniature is the only way to afford that sort of building anymore.

[@PInk77W1]

The Los Angeles Cathedral does look like a bunch of cardboard boxes blew into a pile

[@oriol108]

What do You think about the modern Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Ciudad de Mexico ?

[@rfrover]

Both St. Mary’s in San Francisco and Christ the Light in Oakland are actually quite stunning and inspiring in person. I much prefer them to some ersatz gothic reproduction.

[@wayneshandera4975]

This is absurd, the Oakland and. San Francisco cathedrals are fabulously beautiful

[@williamcrowley9156]

Someone in the diocese approved the plans. They had to look ahead and not back. They appeal to some and not to others but no one can argue the church is stagnant. I’ve never seen these places in person, never attended a baptism or liturgical life. I cannot judge and according to the church, the Holy Spirit is in every single consecrated one.

[@williamdonahue6617]

"Old St. Mary's" was not the previous cathedral in San Francisco. It was St. Mary's Cathedral on Van Ness and Broadway that burned down in 1962. The current cathedral is on Geary Blvd., the result of a land swap for more land and parking at a less central location. It is beautiful on the inside.

[@wayneshandera4975]

Agree

[@marialorenzaforni5705]

No need of Ersatz ,but simplicity

[@josephmclaughlin9404]

A “separate” side chapel for the Blessed Sacrament is an insult to the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the only reason for the church in the first place. The Eucharist already has THE place of honor in most Catholic Church’s center altar.

[@howardoller443]

Yes, some of these structures are not aesthetically pleasing by conventional human standards, but God doesn't care about our church buildings. He cares about what is inside us; the state of our heart. He cares whether we genuinely love Him and want an eternal relationship with Him.

[@rdm47579]

God doesn’t care about our church buildings? I’m not sure about that. He told Solomon exactly how he wanted the Temple built.

[@howardoller443]

@@rdm47579 Yes, for that SPECIFIC matter, it was important. You can't extrapolate that to apply to every church edifice. If you want to genuinely understand God's stance on the matter, read the short Bible-based treatise" What is the importance or value of a church building?" on the Got Questions website.

[@lulubell523]

We should offer our best to God. Not hideous self indulgent "architecture".

[@DarlowMaxwell]

70;s was a terrible period

[@erikriza7165]

The 70s are over. The experiment failed.

[@howtubeable]

I was raised United Methodist, and I agree. Something went horribly wrong in the 1970's.

[@erikriza7165]

@@howtubeable In the late 60s, the Methodist Discipline made it optional for Ministers to drink alcohol (which i thought there was nothing wrong with that) but it seems to me a lot of things got a lot worse since then.

[@FrankDeMaria-te2ee]

You are right, they are ugly, but more important the interiors are cold. No warmth, just large spaces. Well what do you expect when you move away from the Mass and replace it with the novus ordo mass. The two ugly things belong together. :( :(

[@mph1ish]

That's unkind and prideful of you to call the NO Mass ugly. I go to a Novus Ordo church with gorgeous gothic architecture and communion rails- and there a Latin Mass a half hour away from me in a modern-styled church.

[@amitisshahbanu5642]

Once you start to know Latin it can be fun. The mega churches with the phony pastors come to mind. The ones who get the collection plate filled based on fear not Christian love.

[@robertcoogan6421]

The Paul VI Mass is eloquently beautiful. The oldTridentine mass when I was an altarboy, now that was truly dreary!

[@mikepoulin3020]

Yes, the NO mass which has driven away 85% of Catholics...but don't worry, the modernist's churches are full of sterile old women, are dying off and will be gone in a few generations...

I actually like the church in Scottsdale. The exterior is very nice. The interior isn't so beautiful, but it looks like they have a large organ so good music

[@matthewmcdaid7962]

I suspect th;at the cost of the last church on the list was driven by an earthquake proof foundation. Those are expensive, but if your last church was irreparably damaged by an earthquake...

[@noelsamson876]

St Mary's in san francisco is actually stunning in person. It was designed by nervi

[@st.michaelthearchangelorth1055]

The interior is not bad, the sanctuary notwithstanding. Some dean decided to put a wooden box-like structure sacristy behind the sanctuary. That's its downfall.

[@murrayaronson3753]

That’s right. Pier Luigi Nervi.

[@bburroughs]

Since you seem to appreciate beauty, it might have been a good idea to skip the hideous, repetitive music underlying this video.

[@nate8932]

Christ cathedral california actually has a very beautiful interior with alot of sunlight. Does not look like the picture they put in the video

[@donzucca264]

You apparently haven’t seen it since the reno.

[@marietta1335]

I like the design of St. Maria Goretti's Church in Scottsdale, AZ (#6). It's not ugly - it's beautiful!

[@rr7firefly]

Complete embarrassment to be criticizing Oakland's new church. I have been there several times and that space is a beautifully detailed and harmonically proportioned building. The old cathedral looks like a dowdy housewife compared to it. // As for Rafael Moneo's design for Los Angeles' cathedral, only an uneducated person would say it borrows from Postmodernism. It clearly is NOT Postmodern. Furthermore it cannot be simultaneously Postmodern and Deconstructivist. That statement in this critique clearly shows a glaring lack of any education about architecture.

[@evelynmehrkens6668]

Old Saint Mary's was not the cathedral. Saint Mary's Cathedral burned down and that was why it was replaced. However I do agree that the new cathedral is ugly.

[@rallegra]

Actually, Old St. Mary’s in SF is being restored. They have an active parish staffed by the Paulist Fathers. Still, they have a ways to go to complete the restoration.

[@edwardmiller9611]

As a Protestant, I really do like these modern styles and the interiors are better than the exterior..

[@scottsteinburg3284]

If you’re basing worship on a more simplistic design of the building and sanctuary, you’ve got lots and lots of problems. I see most of these buildings to be very beautiful at least on the inside and not arrogant and ostentatious, like a lot of Catholic churches and cathedrals.

[@missmolly2024]

How can a church be arrogant? Worship is not based on the design of the building, however a beautiful church can be truly inspiring. God is beautiful and is the source of beauty in our world, so why shouldn't the place where He is worshipped be beautiful?!

[@ryanhilliard1620]

Hey! You got St John Abbey Church in Collegeville. I was worried you would miss that one. St Anselm in St Louis is pretty awful as well. The mother shop has landed.😂

[@yeahchband]

Lifelong Catholic here. I don't have a problem with any of the churches you describe here. I especially liked St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco when I visited. I like the older traditional churches, too. There is more than one way to design a Catholic Church.

[@jimgriffin9924]

Your opinion, not fact. I love the older Gothic and Romanesque churches. However, many of them are dark and dreary. There is much to like in the more modern churches.

[@tedmartin5239]

Many of us called the church in Burlington, Mass "The Covered Wagon" church...I loved it BTW... Contemporary for me, thank you.

[@edwardbaker1331]

There are a lot more that just look like Pizza Huts.

[@jec1ny]

I've heard the term "Our Lady of Pizza Hut" more than once.

[@OPSTBSTL76]

Pretty much people expressing their personal tastes -- to which they are entitled, but no need to be so doctrinaire. There can be churches in a modern idiom that are valid expressions of faith and worship. In a way, more genuine that tarting up new constructions with wistful decorative touches.

[@HolaKylie]

The Architectural design of a Church matters to me only in these aspects: (1) whether The Holy Eucharist holds Centrality in the worship space; (2) whether the interiors allow more room and focus for interior prayer more than just satiating the senses via mesmerizingly magnificent but distracting statues, symbols, ornate decorations or whatever else; (3) whether the space evokes Sanctity minus excessive decorations; (4) whether the space evokes the atmosphere of community, thereby encouraging greater participation. The rest, IMHO, therefore, are unnecessary distractive additives. What makes the Church beautiful are the lively participatory worship and the interior dispositions of every churchgoer grounded on openness and kindness towards others just the way Jesus was when He Walked His Talk here on earth. So, to put it frankly: it isn't really the edifice that matters most but rather the people running it and using it, and the how's and why's of the goings-on in there. Today in the 3rd Millennium, it is high time for Catholics to re-direct their gaze and focus on creating a balance between interiority (silent meditation, reflection) and active participatory spirituality, both anchored on the Eucharistic Christ in Scripture and in action, while stepping slowly away from the usual visual and aesthetic feast for the senses we've been used to since the traditional gothic, renaissance and baroque periods of Catholic arts. This too is necessary in the further fulfillment of Vatican 2's aggiornamento, opening more windows than closing doors. The keys are openheartedness and acceptance.

[@st.michaelthearchangelorth1055]

"the feast for the senses" as you put it, is an expression of the Incarnation. There was beauty in worship way before the gothic period. frescoes in the Roman catacombs attest to this. Man is not a disembodied spirit unaffected by his visible surroundings-that is the height of Jansenism.

[@DonaldMoreno]

I don't view any of these churches in modernist and minimalist architectural as 'ugly'. If you want to see gothic and traditional architecture go to Europe. This is the USA.

[@petesilva8962]

Why do we care about what the church looks like inside and out. The most important thing were going to do there is worship. Its still our Lords home. I feel its sad that this video is called Ugly Churches. As long as its a church of our Lord. Its shouldnt matter what it looks like. Do the new church styles have a roof over them? Do they keep us warm to feel comfortable as we worship? They may not look the same as the gothic style. But we still do the same worship. Is our Lord Jesus Christ not on the across above the Alter? Yes he is. Hes in both Old style and New. We sit in Pews and kneel on the kneelers in both kinds of churches. The lord loves us in both style of churces. Now all want to finish with is the Christ Cathedral ( formerly Crystal Cathedral) in OC Socal. The scenes that were shown were of the Crystal Cathedral. The new remodeled Church Christ Cathedral is modern but but has alot of differences to compare to Crystal Cathedral.

[@live_free_or_die7260]

There's something wrong with these bishops. Did anyone see the altar at Norte Dame? It's horrendous. The vestments were ugly also.

[@chemrebel]

I have a Catholic church local to me that is modernist by design. The fixtures, from what I remembered seeing in the 1980s and late 1990s was very minimalist. The large sculpture of Christ on the Cross behind the altar, also created to fit the "aesthetic" of the interior, was so radically different, the artist even gave him a Brutus-style haircut. And there was zero items of "traditional" catholic statuary or iconography. So many people complained to the point that "Bob Christ" was taken down. The last time I was in it for a wedding, the church had finally bought in some traditional statuary and Christ, but it just looks so out of place in there.

[@Dr-Peppy]

Imma be really honest I liked a lot of these. They’re different, and that’s what makes them unique.

[@UltraConservativeMonarchist]

Churches should be beautiful, not "unique".

[@TamasJL]

I really like these cathedrals. I don't understand why they are called here "ugly".

[@thanhthaonguyen6971]

These cathedrals are only fashionable buildings so bright and stylish but no God no Mother Mary no Angels and Saints. These cathedrals have no souls only empty shelf.

[@markrichards6863]

St. Mary's in San Francisco is really cold and stark looking from the outside. I do like the interior. It's different. There are enough traditional churches if you require a traditional building. St Ignatius and St Cecilia's, as well as the church at. Mission Dolores.

[@rafaelmendezhernandez8295]

I disagree on LA Cathedral. It's grand, gives you a sensation of being in the presence of God. It's color is warm, giving you a sensation on welcoming. I has the presence of American saints and Our Lady of Gudalupe.

[@michaelcook4194]

One of those "churches" in the beginning looked like Boston's government center.

[@Darkness33333]

Wow. I actually like the creativity of some of these churches. They better reflect our times. Do you think Gothic churches are the only acceptable church design? Is that the only style that can inspire contemporary spirituality? I disagree. I appreciate and am inspired by some of the new church styles

[@edwardbaker1331]

Churches should not reflect "times." They don't exist to reward human vanity. Truth is timeless, eterhnal, and immutable because it is entirely the reflection of the mind of God. His creation creates no truth at all. We can discover and give witness to truth, but we create no truth at all. We cannot even possess truth. Truth possesses us.

[@howtubeable]

Both Brutalism and Deconstructivism are harsh, brutal and unforgiving. Is that how you see God? God is massive, unbending, cold, brutal and unforgiving?

[@edwardbaker1331]

There is no such thing as "contemporary spirituality." That is pure conceit and self-worship. Truth never changes.

[@edwardbaker1331]

@@howtubeable God is forgiving because He knows of the silliness and evilness of our conceits.

[@taraelizabethdensley9475]

I wouldn't have even known any of these buildings are churches

[@michaelplunkett5124]

These churches are beautiful. It's sad how un catholic is the producer of this presentation. It it a universal church for all ages.

[@Hvillehermit]

You need to add Holy Family in Woodruff, Wisconsin. It looks more like a northern Wisconsin hunting lodge than a Catholic church with all its wood, stone and glass.

[@mrs.m4002]

All vanity projects. We know the names of the architects, engineers, donors, bishops, and artists for everything in them except the bathroom stalls (and maybe them). The result: Big, imposing, and oddly empty. Older churches were works of love created by people who didn't expect royalties from them, full of small details the eye could linger on, representational in a way that everyone could understand, and, as is fitting for a conservative institution that has lasted over two millenia, employed the architectural and artistic traditions of its own past. I eagerly await your take on the top 10 most miserable Catholic hymns and other musical compositions.

[@princessc660]

That’s rude to call a place that holds Jesus in there ( Eucharist) ugly. Beauty is subjective.

[@UltraConservativeMonarchist]

This is an utterly modernist and secular worldview. These churches are putred and an insult to God. Every faithful Catholic should be outraged over this.

[@PAHighlander24]

Our Lady of Maytag! Hilarious! And apt!

[@NurseTalking]

The new Los Angeles Cathedral has a surprised look to me when it was built. It's bounded by a major freeway so that can be one of the reasons for its modernist design.

[@Rl469]

I am not Catholic but I have been in several of these churches. Most of the buildings on this list are appealing to me. Ugly is in the eye of the beholder. If the church is a living entity, modernism is appropriate. I think simplicity is closest to God.

[@lindastanford7096]

Modernism is exactly what is destroying the Catholic Church, and the empty church buildings are the fruit of the error.

[@reflexio]

Many of these churches are magnificent and take us out of the paralyzing conformity of the churches they replaced. BRAVO for evolution of church architecture. (It is annoying to hear the repeated prejudice of the commentary. A more objective and critical look at these churches could have helped and not hindered our adaptation to the reality of a modern church. The Church is ALIVE and not arrested in the questionable taste of the past.)

[@amitisshahbanu5642]

Ah, you are sour graping...

[@myleftshoe9]

And at the beginning of the video they said it received a bad review by someone in France. Have you seen the weird junk France thinks is "art"? Don't care what France thinks about architecture.

[@reflexio]

@@myleftshoe9 France has always been very progressive .... happily, otherwise the Church would become what a lot of the Amercian Church has become ... a glorified social club with seeks its comfort in conventional form.

[@danielwilderman8081]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What is important is whether Christ is lifted up then the saints meet. The church is not a building, the church is the bride of Christ, people, not buildings!

[@joanl.7543]

The physical church reflects the life of the spirit. These churches are not just ugly; they fail to lift the mind beyond this current world. They are so much about promoting the idea of the Church as "modern", rather than as the Bride of Christ bearing His Sacraments and Gospel. It's really a form of pandering to secularism.

[@brianbacon5149]

+JMJ I'm not as holy as you. To me they look like city hall auditoriums or a cheap opera house more than altars of Holy Sacrifice. They highlight inanity, banality, dissonance and brutalism. They convey human hubris and keep the memory of the Gospel to the barest minimum. They fail miserably in transmitting Catholic Faith and Tradition. In fact they mock God and in doing so undermine human dignity and hope of salvation.

[@Nina-gn2cs]

Absoultely false!!! There are guidelines from many holy popes and saints in the history of the Roman Catholic Church on church archetiture, art, images etc.

[@st.michaelthearchangelorth1055]

a positive about the LA Cathedral is that the interior is very well appointed, whereas the others have mass produced "art."

[@bonniecarruth8429]

I was gobsmacked when the Diocese of Orange gave up its plan to build a cathedral and bought the Crystal Cathedral. The bishop said he did it because so many visiting priests asked to see it. I think it was and is ugly, when you are inside it is like being under a stadium tier seating.

[@robertcoogan6421]

What is the point? Now, if you were to show the most breathtakingly beautiful modern churches, that would be edifying.

[@BG-sl9lv]

The hope of introducing modern architecture was to make the church forward looking and not just a relic of medieval ism and to help make the church relevant to our age and not just ages past. It is a form of evangelization. Traditionalists would rather freeze the church in an age of a millennium ago.

[@rdm47579]

Make the Church relevant to our age? I hope not.

[@jimh4072]

We don’t need to be forward looking - we just need to be catholic. That’s all that counts. 😂😊

[@floragreenfield4256]

That may have been the intention, but it certainly isn't working. 😊

[@daveweiss5647]

If people want a futuristic religion become a scientologist... tradition, beauty and culture are a huge part of spirituality amd weather people like to admit it or not are a big reason people go to religious services. Modernism destroys the soul... classical beauty (of any kind, evem up to art deco) inspires and uplifts...

[@BG-sl9lv]

@@daveweiss5647 I suggest you try to be a bit more unassuming. Your opinions are not facts and they certainly are not universal.

[@SOCORROGM]

Simple, if the faithful quit paying for this junk it stops real quick😮

[@BG-sl9lv]

you mean- demand to have your way or else you walk?

[@rdm47579]

@@BG-sl9lvNo, not walk out, just stop giving money to building funds that propose projects we object to.

[@carloargoti9882]

More like purely dishonest. You criticize Christ Cathedral yet do not even show the renovated interior with the blessed sacrament chapel, baptismal font, pews, etc.

[@st.michaelthearchangelorth1055]

The font is amazing, yes. But the side chapels are like rooms within a museum and the Blessed Sacrament chapel was an afterthought. Giving the devil his due, the video was about architecture, not interior appointments. To that end he exposed it. So, he isn't being dishonest. The grossest aberration in Christ Cathedral is the Pantocrator which looks a print plate ripped out of the 1913 Baedeker " Guide Book to Gothic Cathedrals the World Over." It is complete nonsense!

[@donzucca264]

It’s like being inside of an igloo. What the Diocese of Orange did to that church is hideous.

[@JWParkerPhDDDiv]

this is so ironic St John's Episcopal Cathedral(Los Angeles), Grace Episcopal Cathedral(San Francisco), Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Phoenix), The Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Paul(Detroit), Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Paul(San Diego) are all old line architecture and they are used by a very progressive denomination.

[@billthompson4718]

Not every 'successful' church design needs to be dripping with gilt and rococo ornamentation. Sometimes a more fluid and organic shape can be incredibly relaxing and help one go into even deeper meditation in the space. Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder.

[@frzstat]

Amen.

[@CarapaceClavicle]

What’s beautiful to me is the idea that beauty is objective and not in the eye of the beholder.

[@michaeltres]

Settling on just 10 was a monumental task. "If you think we missed any..." There aren't enough years left in my life to get back to you on that one.

[@jjmac83]

No issue with any of these buildings. Some of these are obviously a product of its time. What we see as nice now will eventually fall out of fashion. I appreciate the restoration efforts to maintain existing classical architecture. But to propose or build a new structure in the classical style is just plain stupid

[@ront335]

Why is it stupid?

[@DickyMorin]

To ront135, building a new building in the classical style is seen stupid by those who want to renounce traditional building materials, methods, and styles for creativity and novelty. Many people find in the familiar a sense of rootedness and of being home. Train stations are often more welcoming than modern churches.

[@terriseaton3049]

@@ront335Bc this person doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

[@استاذدانيال]

I'd be surprized if you don't regret your choice of words, "to propose or build a new structure in the classical style is just plain stupid". How is it "stupid" to want to build a church in the "classical style" ? I suppose by "classical" you're not referring to Greco-Roman style like the US capitol, or the Supreme court building. The 10 buildings surveyed in this video do not appeal to most Catholics or even to non-Catholics. They're odd, and not in keeping with the Catholic tradition. I used to work within walking distance of both the Oakland and Los Angeles cathedrals. I do like the Oakland cathedral, but think the stark concrete walls on the interior of the church, the first 10 feet from floor level up, are cold and appear incomplete. I wish the builders had covered them with panelling or some other "wamer" surface. The Los Angeles cathedral is hopeless. It ought to be converted to apartments.

[@josephtrahan8045]

I don’t think God cares what his houses look like but if his people can’t feel like he is present there or get distracted because of the design he wouldn’t want these.

[@tommunyon2874]

I remember visiting St. John's, Collegeville, MN in 1967. I found it captivating..

[@WineSippingCowboy]

I hate the "modern art" types of "churches". The outside looks like "artsy" museums.

[@BG-sl9lv]

just stop hating

[@elevenmattos4958]

In Rio de Janeiro we have the horrendous Catedral Metropolitana that looks like a garbage bin upsidedown.

[@Shskfjekdnf38587]

The thing is, there is no one proper church style. Baroque was “new” in Europe when it was nothing but Gothic churches.

[@BradyHayes-w8m]

True, but unlike the secular liberals, Catholics recognize that beauty has an objective quality, because beauty is one of the 3 transcendentals that are characteristic of God. The gothic and baroque styles which emerged within a distinctly Catholic culture are objectively MUCH more beautiful than these more modern styles produced by a more secular culture.

[@fallenkingdom-zd8xh]

In Redeemed Zoomer’s most recent video, he said that churches in the Midwest are either abandoned stores in strip malls or metal barns that look like a 3 year old built them in Minecraft. Thought that quote was fitting for this video.

[@purely_catholic]

My local Roman Catholic parish is just beige. Nothing fundamentally wrong with it… just completely uninspiring. I’m Ukrainian Catholic and our parish is stunning… despite housing a small congregation. Beauty can be achieved without necessarily breaking the bank.

[@gingerdude7040]

There was a cathedral that existed between the current St. Mary's and Old St. Mary's in San Francisco. It burned. Get your history correct.

[@marietta1335]

You're right.

[@earljeffreyrichards2744]

I live in Münster, Germany, 50 yards from a beautiful Gothic church (Überwasserkirche, there is a Wikipedia page on it, also in English). It is glorious on a sunny day as you can see from the website. The local cathedral, which dates from a century earlier, is Romanesque. In both churches you cannot escape how the architecture of both tries to capture light. These modern American churches attempt in their own way - whether you like it or not, and well, this is a very personal reaction - to incorporate light into worship. As for their brutalist, minimalist style, well, medieval Dominican churches were designed to be largely devoid of Gothic decoration and also resembled assembly halls, the idea being that worshippers should focus on the interior experience of Christian spirituality. Now that Notre-Dame de Paris has been restored to its original radiance, you can see how important light was (and is) in the spirituality the cathedral is meant to celebrate. I remember Notre-Dame as a very dark edifice, it has now been reborn in light. So before you criticize these churches for being too modernist or deconstructionist or brutalist, think how they all celebrate light. I realize that traditional neo-Gothic architechture offers its comforts, but perhaps it might be better to focus more on light, because, after all, as it says in Genesis, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

[@Fresh-tw7ev]

We had a similar church in Westerville Ohio named Saint Paul. It had one of those ski slope roof designs and a matching ski slope girders in the interior. Ugly as all get out. The kids in the school referred to it as “the Pringle Chip” church. They tore it down and built a beautiful traditional style church in its place. A church similar to Pringle Chip exists in Reynoldsburg approx 20 miles away. Modernist, whacky, and dated. The people out there unfortunately are stuck with it.

[@fre7717]

i think a question to contemplate is can you design a beautiful catherdral based on modern architecture, or are our senses forever tied to Gothic, Baroque, bezentine forms. in some ways, there are parallels in music- ever tried to listen to all the pieces in RCM ARCT syllabus in the modern section (list E), compared to romantic, post romantic, classic and even baroque. trying to get a top 10 you truely like from list E, feels like shaving by plucking each hair out of your beard 😅. Budding architects- design a cathedral based on modern design that people are wowed by.

[@larrybyrne111]

Some fantastic churches in your presentation. I think, no offence meant, that you are too negative towards the modern. The cost you mentioned, well that is another matter, obscene. Thanks for sharing this.

[@dividebyzero1000]

Wow! Thumbnail was from my parish growing up. And this video missed the ugliest/worst part: the ceiling. For most of my childhood, the ceiling was trashed. Due to the church's arched roof, getting anything to adhere to it seemed to be beyond the skill of the contractors. We raised tons of cash, got a new ceiling put in, then got to watch bits of it float down over the years- including large piece during service. Wonder if it still looks terrible.

[@myleftshoe9]

It is unfortunate that you can not see the beauty in these churches. Both the old, traditionally catholic architecture, and the new buildings each have their beauty.

[@apertamono]

As a European, I say Father Edgerly is right. Thanks for the amazing images. I like to admire modern churches in Poland, one of the few places in Europe where new churches have been built in this century.

[@anthonywhelan5419]

Good video, except for the horrible background music.

[@ChannelPVB]

I only listened to a portion of the video and then turned it off because of the music. It is not the first video I have turned off for that reason. I guess some people either don't mind that type of music or like it.

[@modestoca25]

That's ridiculous how much that last cathedral cost...it doesn't even look like a church on the exterior

[@johnbrennan9584]

They renovated my childhood church, traditional design, and made a mess out of it. Funny it needed a few small repairs and they never had enough money but when a massive renovation was planned they found the money.

[@ritchesinoro1512]

Wow, it's amazing what the beauty of the Catholic Church,Amen 🙏🙏🙏

[@raycox4139]

Old does not equal good, just as new does not equal bad. Looking beyond asthetics, the traditional tiny narthex/foyer is a very poor design in regards to traffic flow in regular use, yet there are thousands of churches of all denominations built using this form. Building design should begin with function, especially in churches. It can still be beautiful, but a funcional space can add a lot to joyful work and worship.

[@jongbasco]

when u say its ugly, at least defend why u found it ugly, because I can tell you now, modernism/minimalism is not the enemy, its tackyness.

[@terryhicks8811]

I have seen plenty of ugly over the top "traditional" churches. The criticism of Christ Cathedral in Orange County is unfair/injust. The diocese could have spent untold millions building a new structure, but they turned a protestant glass palace into a successful space for Catholic liturgy. The first US Catholic cathedral (which is in Baltimore) is not gothic-revival, but architecture purposely chosen by the bishop to reflect the beginning of a new nation. The cathedral in Barcelona, Spain, is perhaps the best example of beautiful "modern" architecture... Gaudi was ahead of his time. Truly inspirational.

[@wg820]

St.Pius X Norfolk VA Looks like a brown corrugated cardboard box. St Anne Emmaus,PA Looks like a space ship complete with Sheet Metal exterior. Reminds one of a "flying saucer" with a short probe sticking out the top.

[@reggiek6730]

I’d add a beautiful parish community that is housed in a lackluster 1970’s architectural style box, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Del Rio, TX. Its most redeeming feature are the stained glass windows taken from the old sanctuary still standing next door.