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Sunday, May 13, 2007

Photos of Saint Martin Church, in Starkenburg, Missouri

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Saint Martin's Church, in Starkenburg, Missouri, of the Diocese of Jefferson City. It is on the site of the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows. The church is located in Montgomery County, about 87 highway miles west of downtown Saint Louis, Missouri.

Click for photos of Our Lady of Sorrows Shrine.



This church was consecrated in 1874, and is made of locally-quarried limestone.

Starkenburg is on the hills above the northern banks of the Missouri River. This area was settled by Germans, who named the region "Rhineland", due to its remarkable resemblance to the Rhine River valley of their homeland. This area has become famous again for its wineries, including those in nearby Hermann, Missouri.

This was a German-language parish. This church, like many others in the region, was for a while staffed by Franciscans, who fled the persecutions of Bismark in Germany.

This church is now administered from the Church of the Risen Savior in the nearby village of Rhineland.



The nave of the church. Note the rood beam with crucifix. The columns here are colored by light from the side-windows, which are blue, rose, green, and yellow.



The sanctuary has an intact high altar.



The crucifix is located on a rood beam, which crosses the central nave.



The altar.



The tabernacle, flanked by angels.



Altar of Saint Joseph with the Christ Child.



OLEA SANCTA
Holy oils ambry. The word ambry comes from the Latin armarium, meaning "cupboard, chest, safe, or tool storage", from which also derives the French amoire, or wardrobe.



The ornate baptismal font is in front of Mary's altar, and is topped by a statue of John the Baptist and Christ.



View of the nave showing the colored side-windows. These give the church a unique beauty.



Stained glass window over the main door.



Window of Christ with the little children, and a rose-colored window, which gives the church interior a beautiful glow.



The sacristy houses a small museum, which includes this model of the original 1849 church. A remarkable number of parishes in the area started as log cabins.



Painting of Saint Martin of Tours (316/317 - 397), showing the famous scene at Amiens in Gaul, where Martin, still a Roman soldier and not yet baptized, divides his cloak with a beggar. That evening Martin had a dream where Jesus was wearing the half-cloak, praising Martin to the angels for his deed. "...as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me," Matt. 25:40.



Ceiling of the nave.



The pipe organ.



One of the nicest-looking confessionals in the region.



Map of Starkenburg, Missouri

4 comments:

  1. What an incredibly beautiful Church! If only they were still being built with beautiful, sacred architecture in mind....

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  2. Thank you for taking and posting such wonderful photos of a beautiful church.

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  3. This I beleive in my opinion is perhaps the most beautiful of all our glorious little rural churches in the area. The pictures are beautiful but it must be experienced first hand. Whenever i have stopped by it has been open and is very serene on the inside. The colors on the pllars give it a charm that is hard to describe. It is lovingly cared for and appreciated and it shows. So much is original and that is a great asset. Dont forget to visit the little cemetery next to the church. It chronicles in stone the great migration of Germans to this part of Missouri.

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