Parish History: 2004 Centennial Edition
Blessed Sacrament Parish History Book
A Guide to the Interior
All churches are steeped in symbolism and imagery although it's an aspect of the design that's often overlooked. When parishioners first made their way to Blessed Sacrament on that Easter Sunday, many were unaware of the story their surroundings had to tell, starting before they even entered the church.
Facing north, on the outer wall of the portico are two coats-of-arms. The one on the right belongs to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the one on the left is that of St. Pope Pius X, selected because of his decree encouraging people to frequently take communion, otherwise known as the Blessed Sacrament.
The floor of the portico features radiating lines which lead to a star in the terrazzo floor of the main entrance. A star is commonly used to symbolize Christ and if the design of the star suggests the compass, it represents the Faith of Our Lord as the guide of life.
The doors leading into the church are engraved with leaves of wheat which, according to Symbols in Christian Art and Architecture, "is a rich biblical symbol. From Jesus' parables, wheat came to represent believers over the 'weeds' or 'tares', which represent unbelievers. Wheat may also be used to represent the bread in Holy Communion and, further, the Body of Christ."
The Stations of the Cross, which were not installed until 1932, were painted by an Italian artist named Carlo Wostry, who began working on them in Italy in 1930. He eventually finished them in Hollywood's Heinsbergen Studio and completed them in March 1932.
The church had two balconies. The first was a sound-proofed "cry room" where mothers could sit with their small children during mass. Looming high above the congregation from its perch on the other balcony was the organ, built by the Casavant Freres Company in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec.
Joseph Casavant, considered the first Canadian-born organ builder, started his career as a blacksmith but eventually quit to attend Sainte-Thèrése College. While there he was asked to restore an old organ. Casavant agreed and taught himself the finer points of organ building by studying The Art of Organ Building by Dom Bedos. Francois Bedos de Celles was an 18th century Benedictine Monk who literally wrote the book on organ building, which is still used as a primary reference today.
Casavant was so smitten with the organ once it was restored that he made organ repair and building his career, hand-crafting seventeen organs between 1840 and when he retired in 1866. Thirteen years later, his two sons, Claver and Samuel, founded Casavant Frères, which was commissioned by Blessed Sacrament to build the organ for the new Church, a four-manual, sixty-stop instrument.
The Parish Weekly of October 11, 1928, was almost breathless in its anticipation. "Every pipe of the organ has been voiced by a seasoned artist and the entire instrument was assembled in the factory, where it was thoroughly tested by Mr. Biggs, our organist, before shipment. There is little doubt that the instrument will compare favorable with any in the land."
For the comfort of the parishioners, the church came equipped with a state-of-the-art heating and ventilation system. There was also a public address system with speakers placed inside the church and in the school auditorium as well as outside both in front near Sunset and on the side facing the school yard so that on special occasions when the church was at capacity, the overflow crowd could listen to the sermon and the music while standing outside.
One of the more striking features of the church are the stained glass windows, each created with its own iconography. The windows in the apse and sanctuary symbolize the seven sacraments while those in the nave have the Eucharist as a general common theme. For example, one of the windows features birds and a chalice. According to Harold Cummings, whose studio made the panes, "This symbol is descriptive of all mankind hovering about the chalice, the blood of our Lord being the refreshment and balm of the soul. Birds are an ancient symbol of the human soul."
For those wishing to further immerse themselves in the minutia of the church's structure and architectural fine points, please refer to the Golden Jubilee Souvenir Program or the History provided by the Getty Museum which are both archived online at: http://blessedsacramenthollywood.org.
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