Blessed Sacrament Parish

Brackett-Krennerich was commissioned in 2016 by Blessed Sacrament Parish to design their new church on Highland Drive in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

The existing church had become antiquated due to its size and age. The parish made the difficult decision to embark on a new journey and create a new home for worship which allowed them to build a new church on their existing property adjacent to their already thriving school. This picturesque wooded area serves as a beautiful backdrop for the new church building.

At approximately 15,000 square feet, this Neo-Classical design is born out of the traditional Latin cross plan which is customary to most of the great catholic churches of Western Europe, American, and Latin America. The long nave and flanking transepts give prominence to the altar and sanctuary. The Neo-Classical style arose out of 18^th Century Europe and North America; with dominate features that express features of this architectural order. This style emphasizes harmony (as seen in the classical proportions), repetition (created by the cadence of pilasters along the length of the nave), as well as, proportions and order dominated by the classical order of the Doric column with entablature.

Proportions, symmetry, and relationship of part to the whole characterize classicism and allows for a point of emphasis which is Christ. Vitruvian principles are seen all areas of the interior spaces including the frieze, tablets, and panels.

Numerous liturgical items and church features where carefully removed, stored and incorporated into both the exterior and interior of the new church. Most of the existing German made stained glass was re-used throughout the nave and sanctuary of the new church including the area of the sacristy and face of the new choir loft. In addition, the Stations of the Cross, the sacred heart of Jesus statue, cornerstone, church bells, and numerous other items were fully incorporated into the design and implementation of the new church.

One of the most unique items of the new church is the placement of the stone cross from the old church that once adorned the west façade gable, and now lies engaged into the masonry of the north façade pediment.