Address: 830 Poplar St., Macon, GA 31201
Website: https://stjosephmacon.org/
Overview
The magnificent neo-Romanesque church was finished in 1903 after 14 years of work. The church was served by clergy from the Society of Jesus starting in 1887 and features images of several Jesuit saints. The results are impressive with soaring twin-spires framing a central rose-window and a dome over the intersection between the transepts. The windows, door frames and front steps are adorned in white as a beautiful contrast to the red brick exterior. The interior is awash with architectural ornamentation; and a gold-trimmed barrel-vaulted ceiling covers the cruciform layout with a wide central aisle and columns demarking the side aisles. The original wood pews can hold 450 attendees. The windows are the highlight of the sacred décor, but the sacred statues and Stations of the Cross also enhance the holy environment.
Special things to see in the Church
• Scenes of the life of the patron of the parish, St. Joseph, are depicted in stained glass high in the apse (his marriage to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his death with Jesus and Mary) and over the transept door is a lovely scene the Holy Family in St. Joseph’s carpenter workshop. At the left side of the high altar is a marble statue of St. Joseph the Worker.
• Over 60 stained glass windows adorn the church and were mostly made in Bavaria, Germany by Mayer & Co. The family-owned company headquartered in Munich originated in 1847 and is still in business today. The windows reflect scenes from the life of Jesus and the saints. Many of the windows reflect the Jesuit roots of the church such as the window of the Jesuit missionary St. Francis Xavier speaking to representative peoples of Asia. The image of St. Ignatius of Loyola requesting permission in 1540 to found the Society of Jesus is in the window on the far right in the apse. At the center of the rose window is the acronym for the Jesuit motto, “AMDG” (Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam / For the Greater Glory of God). The windows were refurbished in 2004-2006
• The high altar is made of Carrara marble from Italy and the central altar table is of red and white Carrara marble from Poland. The steep front steps leading to the church are made of white marble-like stone hinting of the inside altars and flooring.
• The side altars honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Blessed Mother with white marble altars and spectacular murals behind – red and gold for the Sacred Heart and blue and gold for the Blessed Mother. The murals were part of the 5-year refurbishing project coordinated by Rohn & Associates of Pittsburgh, PA.
Interesting Fact About the Church
There church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 14, 1971 and was designed by Jesuit Brother Cornelius Otten. The 200-foot tall church is one of three large churches on the hill overlooking downtown Macon which some say has the most churches per-capita than any other U.S. city with more than 200 churches for its population of approximately 157,000.
