A peek inside St. Thomas Church ~ Providence
St. Thomas RC Church
65 Fruit Hill Ave.
Providence, Rhode Island
I had the opportunity to stop in at St. Thomas Church and tour the sanctuary. I've seen this church lots of times, and have even been into their community area to donate blood, but I'd never gone into the sanctuary itself.
The people there were very welcoming, and happy to let me wander and take pictures. One gentleman even showed me around a bit.
I wasn't able to get any history from the church's site, but I do know the church was founded sometime before the cornerstone of the present building was laid in the late 1800s. A second cornerstone is dated 1913, which may be the date that the current building was erected.
The interior has an almost mid-century feel to it, except for the apse, which is more gothic.
This view is from the choir loft.
And this is from the altar.
The sanctuary boasts lots of stained glass windows.
I wish I knew more about styles of stained glass. These are mostly square panes with the occasional insert.
Below is the detail from the trio of windows in the choir loft. The choir no longer uses the loft, however.
Instead, the choir performs to the side of the altar.
You might notice behind the altar is some more stained glass. That's part of the "crying room," a small sanctuary behind the altar that's set aside for parents with crying babies, so they can hear the mass without their children disturbing services. It's also used for weekday masses, which are lower in attendance.
Even the crying room has a smaller, private space for contemplation.
In common with many churches, there's some lovely statuary as well.
St. Thomas enjoys a very active parish life. Aside from a Catholic school, they also have frequent activities, blood drives, craft and holiday sales, etc.
65 Fruit Hill Ave.
Providence, Rhode Island
I had the opportunity to stop in at St. Thomas Church and tour the sanctuary. I've seen this church lots of times, and have even been into their community area to donate blood, but I'd never gone into the sanctuary itself.
The people there were very welcoming, and happy to let me wander and take pictures. One gentleman even showed me around a bit.
I wasn't able to get any history from the church's site, but I do know the church was founded sometime before the cornerstone of the present building was laid in the late 1800s. A second cornerstone is dated 1913, which may be the date that the current building was erected.
The interior has an almost mid-century feel to it, except for the apse, which is more gothic.
The sanctuary boasts lots of stained glass windows.
Below is the detail from the trio of windows in the choir loft. The choir no longer uses the loft, however.
You might notice behind the altar is some more stained glass. That's part of the "crying room," a small sanctuary behind the altar that's set aside for parents with crying babies, so they can hear the mass without their children disturbing services. It's also used for weekday masses, which are lower in attendance.
Even the crying room has a smaller, private space for contemplation.
In common with many churches, there's some lovely statuary as well.
St. Thomas enjoys a very active parish life. Aside from a Catholic school, they also have frequent activities, blood drives, craft and holiday sales, etc.
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