Blessed Sacrament Church (Seattle)

Summary

The Church of the Blessed Sacrament is a Roman Catholic parish within the Archdiocese of Seattle serving Seattle's University District. It is the only parish in the archdiocese to be owned and operated by the Order of Preachers and is within the jurisdiction of the Western Dominican Province. The church's current prior is Fr. Augustine Hilander, and the current pastor is Fr. Dominic David Maichrowicz.[2]

Blessed Sacrament Church
View from 8th Ave NE
Map
47°40′00″N 122°19′03″W / 47.66667°N 122.31750°W / 47.66667; -122.31750
LocationSeattle, Washington
DenominationCatholic
Religious orderDominican
Weekly attendance1,100+ families
1,000+ students
History
FoundedDecember 6, 1908
Founder(s)Fr. Francis Driscoll, O.P.
DedicatedOctober 4, 1925
Architecture
Heritage designationNational Register of Historic Places,
Seattle Landmark
DesignatedJanuary 12, 1984 (NRHP)
March 2, 1981 (Seattle)[1]
StyleNeo-gothic
Administration
ArchdioceseSeattle
DeaneryNorth Seattle
ParishBlessed Sacrament
Clergy
PriorFr. Augustine Hilander, O.P.
Vicar(s)Fr. Francis Le, O.P.
Pastor(s)Fr. Dominic David Maichrowicz, O.P.
Chaplain(s)Fr. Marcin Szymański, O.P. (University of Washington Newman Center)
Fr. Chrysostom Mijinke, O.P. (University of Washington Newman Center)
Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Priory, and School
NRHP reference No.84003479
Added to NRHPJanuary 12, 1984
View from a DJI Mavic 2 Pro in October of 2020.

The church building, its priory, and its parish school building were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 as Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Priory, and School. Damage from the 2001 Nisqually earthquake led to extensive repairs in 2010.[3] It ministers to the Catholic undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Washington through the Prince of Peace Newman Center, which is the fifth-oldest Newman Center and the first to be run by the Dominican Order. Fr. Marcin Szymański is the current pastor of the Newman Center, and Fr. Chrysostom Mijinke, is the parochial vicar.[4] As of 2019, FOCUS missionaries have been serving the parish and Newman Center's ministries as well.

The church is unique among the Order of Preachers because of its practice of appointing yearly Dominican seminarians to serve as "student brothers" for one year, working with both the pastor of Blessed Sacrament and the chaplains at the University of Washington Newman Center to deliver catechesis to a variety of public audiences.[5]

The priory, completed in 1922, was designed by Arnold Constable.[6]

The school, designed by the Beezer Brothers, completed in 1913, was a 56 by 77 feet (17 m × 23 m) two-story woodframe structure. "Because of numerous building and fire code violations, the building was condemned in 1948. Plans to demolish the existing structure and erect a new parish hall on the site will probably be executed in the near future". A replacement school was built in 1950 already?[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "Landmarks and Designation". City of Seattle. Archived from the original on 2013-03-06. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  2. ^ "Our Dominicans". Western Dominican Province. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
  3. ^ "Blessed Sacrament, Newman Center mark 100 years" (PDF). The Catholic Northwest Progress. p. 1. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  4. ^ "What is Newman?". Western Dominican Province. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  5. ^ "Talks". Western Dominican Province. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
  6. ^ a b Padraic Burke; Mark L. Brack (June 1983). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Priory, and School". National Park Service. Retrieved December 7, 2022. With accompanying eight photos from 1983

External links edit

  • Blessed Sacrament Church
  • Prince of Peace Catholic Newman Center