Video: WIVB4 Tour of South Buffalo Church

South Buffalo church looks to restore ancient Celtic artwork

WIVB4

Below layers of paint, the walls of a South Buffalo church hold a piece of local history.

The walls at Holy Family Church once held some of the country’s only ancient Celtic designs.

The designs were placed in the interior of the church by Danish artist Frode Rambusch, who drew inspiration from hand-written Gospel books with Celtic art “The Book of Kells” and “The Book of Lindisfarne”.

“Rambusch was brought in to decorate what was known as ‘The Mother Church’ to celebrate the heritage of the Celtic Irish people,” Father Bryan Zielenieski of Our Lady of Charity Parish said.

The paintings earned Holy Family Church the designation of “Most Celtic Church in America” in 1935, Zielenieski said.