St. Patrick's Church in York as seen in 1976, the year of its 200th anniversary. Notice the base of a steeple to the right of the main entrance, left of center. To see a drawing of how the church would look with a steeple, see below. (From the book, St. Patrick's Church, York Pennsylvania)
Did you ever notice that the ornate and beautiful St. Pat's in York does not have a steeple?
The church's 200th anniversary book in 1976 handles the absence of a spire, pointing to the transcendence of God, this way:
Compare this drawing, with steeple, to the photograph above. The cornerstone was laid in 1895, and the first mass in the Gothic building was celebrated in 1898. A cornerstone marking the first church bearing the name St. Patrick's, dated 1810, is embedded in the north wall of the present church.
'What is a Church without a steeple? It may be a Church that is not finished. It may be a Church that remains on the ground, serving the people. It may be St. Patrick's Church in York, Pennsylvania, which, in the last eighty years, has had more important things to do than build a steeple. In a sense St. Patrick's Church is not finished. Just as St. Paul told us that we must continuously labor to build up the stature of Christ's body, the Church; so the priests, religious and faithful people of St. Patrick's are still building their Church.'
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