St. Benedict's Abbey Church, Atchison, Kansas (1951-1957)
This church has an amazing interior and features side-facing choir galleries designed for the Benedictine monks. Their web-site, features some small images of the church.
In 1945, Byrne was selected as architect for the master plan to incorporate existing and new buildings for the monastery and college. The commission to design the abbey church came some five years later. Overall the project ran between 1951-1957.
The interesting aspect of this commission was that it was required to use the foundations laid for an earlier project in 1928 that fell victim to the stock market crash of 1929. Byrne tried to suggest alternatives but eventually agreed to take on the challenge.
The nave consists of four tall piers, separated by equally tall windows. The 44 foot high ceiling and 128 foot tower make this structure impressive. The piers expand progressively and hint at the octagonal expansions of Christ the King, Turners Cross. The variation however is that this expansion is much slower with the use of wide piers and does not reverse back to a single point. Thus the widest point of the expansion is at the steps of the altar. Here the ceiling drops and floor level rises to form a dramatic climax.
Behind the altar, is the student nave which is of similar design to the main nave and uses piers that gradually contract away from the altar, but it is in a smaller scale and the sanctuary in effect becomes the joining point for two naves, one large and one small.
This, while clever in that it reduced the need for two altars, caused problems when adapting for Vatican II changes; the priest could face one congregation, but would have his back to the other. It also went against Byrnes own objectives of integrating the sanctuary and nave. However, this church still carries many bold features. The tabernacle is housed in a separate chapel located to one side of the altar. The likely reason for this location was that with facing naves, one party was likely to experience an obstructed view if a tabernacle were behind the priest. Much of the colourful interior art work was designed by Byrnes wife, Annette Cremin Byrne.
Our appreciation is extended to Vincent Michael and the family of Barry Byrne for providing some of the images shown on this page. Vincent is Director, Associate Professor of Historic Preservation at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an authority on the work of Barry Byrne.
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