St. Francis de Sales Church is a new, stand-alone, 800 seat Catholic Church situated in a modest residential neighborhood located in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The long elevation of the new church faces School Street. Building elements such as the tower, the transept gable with its arched stained glass window, pointed arch shingles and a series of gable dormers signify that the building is a church. These architectural elements add scale while the shingle sweep details and dark trim are classic Narragansett Bay Shingle Style which helps the new church fit into the residential character of the surrounding neighborhood. One enters the church into a gathering space symbolically transitioning from the outside world to the sacred space. The worship space is revealed through a glass wall. The baptismal font refurbished and brought over from the old church, symbolizes one’s entry into the faith and is situated near the doors of the worship space on axis with the white marble altar obtained from the St. Francis House in Woonsocket and the new tabernacle brought from Rome by the pastor Fr. Bertrand Theroux. The center aisle is defined by curved wooden pews and a carpet runner that leads to the sanctuary flanked by wooden statues acquired from St. Margaret Convent in East Providence. Most notable are the beautifully designed and crafted arched stained glass windows and 10′ diameter rose window from St. Teresa of Avila Church, the former inner-city Providence sister parish the parishioners of St. Francis helped support, which were restored and integrated into this new design.
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