A reader of NLM who had seen my various posts on outdoor Masses (see here, here, and here) wrote to me about a fascinating piece of architectural history that deserves to be better known.
A number of colonial- and mission-era churches in Mexico were constructed with outdoor chapels attached to the main church building. These chapels consist of the altar and sanctuary only, inset into the main structure and thus out of the elements, with the congregation assembled in the open air outside. Dr. Robert H. Jackson discusses these chapels in the Boletín, the journal of the California Mission Studies Association (now California Missions Foundation), issues for 2011-2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Dr. Jackson photographed a number of churches with this feature:
San Pedro y San Pablo, Teposcolula
Nuestra Senora de la Luz, Tancoyol
San Miguel Arcangel, Mani, Yucatan peninsula
Santo Domingo, Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca
San Juan Bautista Yodzoco, Coixtlahuaca
The reader who sent this information to me commented: "I wasn’t aware of this [architectural feature] until reading Jackson’s papers. Living in San Diego County, I have to wonder if it might be a good idea to incorporate outdoor chapels into new or renovated church buildings, where appropriate, particularly in regions with a favorable climate. It might allow for smaller church structures, with the option of using the outdoor sanctuary for larger liturgies, weddings, etc. I’m sure a tradition-respecting church architect could update and incorporate such a feature as the focus of a park or other landscaping adjacent to the main church, maybe using the sacristy as a common pass-through."
More information on Mixtec stonecutting artistry may be found at this website.
Unfortunately, most of these historic outdoor chapels are in poor shape today, but one can well imagine them in their pristine original condition and how useful they would have been for large congregations on great feastdays.
San Pedro y San Pablo, Teposcolula
A number of colonial- and mission-era churches in Mexico were constructed with outdoor chapels attached to the main church building. These chapels consist of the altar and sanctuary only, inset into the main structure and thus out of the elements, with the congregation assembled in the open air outside. Dr. Robert H. Jackson discusses these chapels in the Boletín, the journal of the California Mission Studies Association (now California Missions Foundation), issues for 2011-2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Dr. Jackson photographed a number of churches with this feature:
San Pedro y San Pablo, Teposcolula
Nuestra Senora de la Luz, Tancoyol
San Miguel Arcangel, Mani, Yucatan peninsula
Santo Domingo, Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca
San Juan Bautista Yodzoco, Coixtlahuaca
The reader who sent this information to me commented: "I wasn’t aware of this [architectural feature] until reading Jackson’s papers. Living in San Diego County, I have to wonder if it might be a good idea to incorporate outdoor chapels into new or renovated church buildings, where appropriate, particularly in regions with a favorable climate. It might allow for smaller church structures, with the option of using the outdoor sanctuary for larger liturgies, weddings, etc. I’m sure a tradition-respecting church architect could update and incorporate such a feature as the focus of a park or other landscaping adjacent to the main church, maybe using the sacristy as a common pass-through."
More information on Mixtec stonecutting artistry may be found at this website.
Unfortunately, most of these historic outdoor chapels are in poor shape today, but one can well imagine them in their pristine original condition and how useful they would have been for large congregations on great feastdays.
San Pedro y San Pablo, Teposcolula
Santo Domingo Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca
San Juan Bautista Yodzoco, Coixtlahuaca
Nuestra Senora de la Luz, Tancoyol
San Miguel Arcangel, Mani, Yucatan peninsula
