Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha's Church (LaGrangeville, New York)

The Church of the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
General information
Status	Complete
Architectural style	Postmodern
Town or city	Lagrangeville, New York
Country	United States of America
Construction started	2006[1]
Completed	2008[1]
Design and construction
Client	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Architect	Donald Swartz[1]

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha's Church (LaGrangeville, New York) is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located in Lagrangeville, Dutchess County, in the U.S. state of New York. It was established as a parish in 2002; it was established as a mission of St. Columba in Hopewell Junction in 1998 before being elevated to parish status in 2002. The church was built 2006-2008 to a 2002 designs by architect Donald Swartz.^[1]

Present church

Cardinal Edward Egan instructed a new church to be built "that would be a standard and model for future churches built in the Archdiocese of New York." Donald Swartz was chosen as the architect of the new churches after several design proposals were considered in 2002. The church was built between 2006 and 2008. Cardinal Egan among others dedicated the church on Sunday, November 23, 2008.^[1]

The main altar contains a relic of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. The church contains significant items from two important New York City churches that had been recently closed. The tabernacle is from from Our Lady of Vilnius in Manhattan, and the stained-glass windows by the prominent Bavarian firm of Mayers of Munich (stained glass makers to the Holy See) were transferred from the Harlem Church of St. Thomas the Apostle in Harlem, New York, (1907) installed in 2007.^[2] Both closed churches faced lengthy preservation debates to forestall their demolition and architectural details dispersal. Rocks containing the names of the parishioners in 2007 were placed under the altar stone. The Rosary Garden was an Eagle Scout project by Spencer Coffin and many parishioners. The mission cross built by John McFadden. The former church was transformed into a Faith Formation Center in 2008 and a Parish Office wing was added along with the construction of a new Priest’s Residence.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Parish History of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (accessed 4 Jan 2010)
2. ^ J. Russiello, A Sympathetic Planning Hierarchy for Redundant Churches: A Comparison of Continued Use and Reuse in Denmark, England and the United States of America (MSc Conservation of Historic Buildings, University of Bath, 2008), p.164.