Two of the neighborhood's architectural gems, St. Paul's Catholic Church on Court Street and St. Agnes Catholic Church on Sackett Street will be open to the public this month as part of the parish's open doors program, which invites residents to appreciate the interiors of these churches.
St. Agnes will be open Sunday, Feb. 9 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and St. Paul's will be open Sunday, Feb. 23 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Father Robert Powers, administrator of the combined Parish of St. Paul and St. Agnes, said the event is not aimed at recruiting members for the parish, but to allow people in the neighborhood to see the interiors of the churches during hours when they would normally be closed.
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“These churches are wonderful artistic experiences,” he said. “We don't have the staff to keep them open beyond our scheduled worship times on Sunday mornings. I felt there was a need to have them open during other times.”
Designed in the Greek Revival style by Gamaliel King, also the architect of Brooklyn City Hall, St. Paul's Church dates back to 1838. The steeple was added in the 1860s and the brownstone veneer in 1888, transforming the church into a more Victorian Gothic style. The interior, however, still bears Greek Revival features.
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“St. Paul's predates the neo-Gothic construction of the mid-19th Century,” Father Powers said. “It's interesting that it was built in the style of a Protestant meeting house. The Gothic features were added later.”
St. Agnes Church, built in 1905, was designed by Thomas Houghton, who also designed St. Francis Xavier in Park Slope. Houghton is the son in law of Patrick Keely, who designed countless churches in the neighborhood, including St. Mary Star of the Sea on Court Street and Sacred Heart St. Stephen on Carroll Street.
“St. Agnes was built around the time of the end of the neo-Gothic revival,” Father Powers said. “It has an abundance of marble, the reredos behind the altar is spectacular and the stained-glass windows are imported from Munich. They were made by the firm of F. X. Zettler. For people who know stained-glass windows, that is a well-known name.”
In past years, the event has drawn a number of people from the neighborhood and others who come to Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens to spend their Sunday, Father Powers said. He and the parishioners of the parish look forward to welcoming visitors on Feb. 9 and Feb. 23.
“This is an opportunity for our parishioners to meet people in the neighborhood and give them hospitality,” he said.
