St Brendan's Church (3rd and Van Ness)

Another departure from the houses to the buildings of Hancock Park

This is St. Brendon's Church in Hancock Park. I'm just going to skate past the whole religion thing--what can I say in a blog post that would do anything more than show my hatred? So let's skip the rant this time and go straight to the architecture:

It's pretty, no? I'm not an expert by any means on any kind of architecture, much less religious architecture. What little I know is telling me this is pretty standard fair for your typical medium-sized church. Still, it's a great building. My favorite part?

This. I love this so much. My friend who studies ravens in his spare time first showed me this church and for this reason: ravens have nested on St. Brendan's head, giving him a "Jesus with a crown of thorns" look taken to drag queen proportions. And with a poop-stained gown to match. I said I'd skip the rant and I feel justified since this picture says a million words.

Fictional History time: St. Brendan the Navigator sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to find the Garden of Eden. Along the way he encountered a sea monster on whose back he celebrated Easter because he mistook the monster for an island. He also met an Ethiopian devil and a man dressed entirely in hair who was fed by a sea otter. This is what you have to do to get a church named after you. People pray to this man. Not kidding.

I kind of wanted to go inside, but churches really freak me out. Has anyone else been inside and seen if it's pretty or not?