Imbued with a sense of reverence, not to mention all those beautifully vaulted spaces, cathedrals and other sacred spaces can be stunning settings for art installations of all kinds, from ethereal light projections to complex arrangements of string. Abandoned churches get the revival of a lifetime when painted floor-to-cupola with vivid murals, while the ruins of long-lost cathedrals are resurrected in ghostly wire forms.

‘Our Colour Reflection’ by Liz West, UK

Hundreds of mirrored discs in a spectrum of colors hover above the floor of England’s former St. John’s Church in Scunthorpe, reflecting rainbow light all over the interior. The installation by Liz West is gorgeous when taking it in as a whole, but step closer and you’ll see that each disc is like a miniature work of art in itself, containing its own tiny composition of architectural elements.

Ghost Church Made of Wire by Edoardo Tresoldi, Italy

A long-lost early Christian basilica is resurrected in ghostly form, its contours traced in wire for a translucent effect. Located in the historic park of Siponto in the Southern Italian region of Puglia, this installation by Edoardo Tresoldi lets modern-day visitors explore the church as it is thought to have appeared centuries ago.

Video Mapping by Marcos Zotes, Iceland

Artist and architect Marcos Zotes uses the facade of Hallgrímskirkja, Iceland’s largest church, as a canvas for projections of monumental proportions in a show called ‘Rafmognu? Náttúra.’ Moderating the color and movement through a midi controller, the artist created a dynamic visual experience that made the architecture seem to come alive.

11 Mirages to Freedom by Okuda San Miguel, Morocco

An abandoned and dilapidated church gets a striking makeover with the addition of a vivid mural covering nearly all of its exterior surfaces. Street artist Okuda San Miguel painted ’11 Mirages to Freedom’ on the outside of this church in Morrocco as an interactive display honoring its past as well as its structural beauty.

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Holy Art 13 Spectacular Secular Installations In Sacred Spaces

In search of an earthly savior, Saint Frances de Sales Catholic School in Powhatan, VA served from 1899 to 1970 as a school for young African-American women.

Known as “The Castle on the James”, Saint Frances de Sales Catholic School opened in 1899 and 115 years later, straddles a precarious limbo between demolition and restoration. These photos by Joel Handwerk of Lithium Photo aren’t the only such images of the approximately 50 buildings at the 75-acre site but they are among the most breathtaking thanks to Handwerk’s keen eye for the beauty and sadness commonly evoked by such abandonments.

Credit the establishment of Saint Frances de Sales Catholic School to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a religious community founded in 1891 by St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955), who was canonized a saint on October 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Born into the fabulously wealthy Drexel family, Katherine made it her life’s mission to aid and assist downtrodden Native Americans and Afro-Americans.

Taking the name Mother Katherine, Drexel would spend the better part of six decades (and about $20 million of her inherited and invested fortune) building schools and churches, of which Saint Frances de Sales Catholic School in Powhatan, VA is a prime example.

After Mother Katharine passed away on March 3, 1955 at the age of 96, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament could no longer depend on the Drexel fortune to fund their many facilities. Though the order continues to work with African-Americans and Native Americans in 21 states and Haiti, the abandonment and deterioration of massive complexes like Saint Frances de Sales Catholic School and its environs reflect the Sisters’ paucity of resources.

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Classy Abandoned Saint Frances De Sales Catholic School

If the words “gargle” and “gargoyle” sound similar that’s no coincidence, but from their original function as decorative downspouts gargoyles have evolved into whimsically sculptured, cathedral dwelling creatures who often look evil but whose purpose is to do good.

Lookout Below

(images via: Livius, Under the Gargoyle and A.Davey)

Reminiscent of classically inspired lion-headed faucets, the ancient gargoyles above display the openings through which rainwater poured. The purpose of the heads was purely practical at first: keep water that fell onto a building’s roof from coursing down its sides and undermining the foundations. The gargoyles above hail (clockwise from above left) from Ai Khanoum in Afghanistan, ancient Greece and Axum in Ethiopia.

(image via: Corbis)

They may have helped the buildings upon which they were mounted but pity the poor townspeople for whom every rainy day became a walk in the waterpark. The majestic, lion-head gargoyle above once directed rainwater from a corner of an ancient Greek temple’s roof.

Roman Noses (and Mouths)

(images via: Jeff Cook, The Luminous Landscape and Degenerate Press)

In the time of the Roman Empire gargoyles began to be built with lead pipes inside to channel water without eroding the stone. It was an effective innovation, as can be attested to by the many gargoyles still performing their functions atop Roman temples 2,000 years or more after they were built.

(image via: Grows On You)

Like so many innovations pioneered or perfected by the Romans, gargoyles are popularly used today to give a distinctive look to fountains and other water sculptures that don’t need rain to let it shine.

Mooning Gargoyles

(images via: Krossbow and Skeptic Friends Network)

Sometimes gargoyles take on unusual forms that seem out of place with their usual locations – on places of worship. Take the pair of mooning gargoyles above from Germany (top) and England. Some say that these types of gargoyles were “aimed” at competing buildings or in the case of the German one, a government office across the street.

Japanese Gargoyles

(images via: Digital Photography School, Jenlyn and Sosaku)

Gargoyle etymology breaks gargoyles down into three occasionally overlapping formats: gargoyles that drain water, “grotesques” that are sculptures, and chimeras which are unusual representations of non-existent creatures. The onigawara figures that appear on the tops of medieval Japanese castles, temples and old houses are in a class of their own, however, and at some locations are covered in gold leaf.

(images via: Wikipedia and Tsubu Gai)

The most famous Japanese gargoyles are shachihoko: gold-plated, tiger-headed carp that were placed in pairs atop the country’s most important castles to protect them from fire. Shachihoko are often quite large and although valuable, would be very difficult to steal. They’re popular tourist attractions on the rare occasions they are taken down for cleaning.

Notre Dame Cathedral’s Gargoyles, Paris, France

(image via: Architecture/About)

(images via: Finazzo, Stonecarver and Raingod)

With Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral, gargoyle sculpture reached its zenith of artistic beauty and laid the basis for centuries of gargoyle legends and lore. Technically “grotesques” and not pure gargoyles, the many mythical creatures crafted to guard over Notre Dame de Paris are favored subjects of photographers as they glare darkly over the City Of Light. Although extensively restored, the building and its trademark gargoyles looks much like it did upon the completion of its initial construction in the year 1345.

The Chrysler Building’s Gargoyles

(images via: Fotothing, XRoads and Alinbdt)

Completed on May 28, 1930 after only two years of construction, New York City’s Chrysler Building stands as a beacon of modernity and a celebration of American capitalism. With that said, the building harkens back to historic cathedrals with its set of amazing gargoyles.

(image via: Curbly)

William Van Alen designed the Chrysler Building and its iconic gargoyles, one of which is shown above. This spectacular Art Deco eagle – modeled after the hood ornaments used on 1929 Chrysler cars – gleams in stainless steel and looks out over New York City from the Chrysler Building’s 61st floor.

Arizona Gargoyles

(images via: Copperdragon and Photographers Direct)

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary church in Flagstaff, Arizona, is a little touch of Gothic charm in America’s desert southwest. The many gargoyles learing out from the church’s walls take on an especially grim appearance on mornings after the city is blasted by winter weather, causing icicles to grow on the already spiky figures.

Alabama Gargoyles

(images via: Selma Daily Photo, Deep Fried Kudzu and DiveMasterKing2000)

Gothic architecture in Alabama? It’s more likely than you think. The First Baptist Church on Lauderdale Street in Selma, Alabama, boasts an interesting group of gargoyles leaning out from the church tower’s four corners.

National Cathedral Gargoyles, Washington D.C.

(images via: Stonecarver and io9)

The National Cathedral in Washington D.C. looks much like any of Europe’s great historic cathedrals from a distance, but up close the visitor is in for a surprise. The cathedral’s gargoyles memorialize a mix of archetypal American imagery with pop culture cues that will fill many with Shock and awe. Perhaps the most famous of the cathedral’s many interesting gargoyles is one chilling figure carved to resemble Star Wars’ penultimate villain, Darth Vader.

Carved in stone or cast in metal, the many gargoyles, grotesques and chimeras perched menacingly on the world’s great buildings never fail to evoke emotions ranging from joy to hope to fear and even terror. It’s a good thing they’re inanimate, isn’t it?