Mystery religious cabinet??

by Ed

Hi. I am new to this forum and I hope that someone can help me. I hope also that my photos will be interesting to everyone. I would love to find out just what this piece is. It has been in my families attic for years and has always frightened me (and I am 58) :) My mother and father are gone now and I didn't really get the story on it from them. I think we may have gotten it when the local Catholic church was hit by a tornado in the 1950s...but maybe not. It has one door in the front that is hinged. For some sort of scale, I would say that it is about five feet tall. I hope someone can help. Best regards, Ed