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On three days of my recent vacation, I escaped to St. Louis to see a new ball park. I now have watched games in all 30 Major League parks, 18 Big League parks of yesterday, 62 Minor League diamonds, and a dozen spring training fields. That’s my hobby. I like baseball and its “Green Cathedrals”. While on the banks of the Mississippi, I visited two real Cathedrals – the old one near the Arch and the “new” Cathedral in the neighborhood of the 1904 World’s Fair. The Old Cathedral, on the St. Louis Riverfront, was the oldest and first Cathedral west of the Mississippi. The first Mass in St. Louis was celebrated on that very spot in 1764. The Basilica of St. Louis IX, formerly the Cathedral of St. Louis and the only parish in the city until 1845, was consecrated in 1834 at an 8-hour ceremony! It is the only parcel of land in St. Louis that has been used for the same purpose since the city's founding. Because of the historical significance the Church remained intact in the mid-20th century while the neighboring buildings were torn down to make way for the Gateway Arch. The church is noted for its classical marble altars, a painting of a vision of Saint Louis given by King Louis XVIII of France, and an accurate replica of the painting of the Crucifixion by Diego Velázquez. By the early 20th century, the Old Cathedral had become too small. Visiting officials had difficulty finding the church, and the population center had moved west with the expansion of the city. Archdiocesan bosses began planning for a new Cathedral. In 1914 the Catholic archdiocesan seat was moved to the “new Cathedral”. The old Church was renamed the Church of St. Louis IX, King of France. On January 27, 1961, Pope John XXIII designated the original Cathedral of St. Louis a basilica. Archbishop John Glennon began the building the new Cathedral in 1907, an uplifting environment for Catholic worship and an inspiring place for prayer, a unique combined architecture of Romanesque style on the exterior with a wondrous Byzantine style interior. In the vestibule, the mosaics depict the life of the city’s patron, St. Louis IX, King of France, and provide a preview of the interior beauty. Inside, the great center dome, which pulls the eye heaven-ward, and the two lesser domes and half domes, together with the arches, reveal in mosaic art the story of the Catholic Faith from creation to the last judgment. Portraying scenes from both the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, the mosaic works picture men and women of our Judeo-Christian history as well as illustrating the more recent development of the Catholic Church in North America and particularly in St. Louis. It is the largest mosaic collection in the world created by 20 different artists and covering 83,000 square feet. The installation, containing 41.5 million pieces of glass tesserae employing over 7,000 colors, began in 1912 and was completed in 1988. The east
transept is quite striking with its portrayal of Christ's Resurrection
and His appearance to the woman, Mary, and to His disciples at Emmaus.
The mosaic of the soffit of the raising of Lazarus from the dead is
symbolic of Jesus' Resurrection. The west soffit contains images of
Jesus' baptism and Ascension to heaven. The transept mosaic - rendered
in flaming colors of red, violet and blue - pictures the occasion of the
Holy Spirit's descent on the apostles. In the historic dome, the great
seal of the Archdiocese of St. Louis on a dark blue background and
surrounded with the stars of the heavens is the dominant mosaic. The
round dome mounted on the square space of the bay is supported by
inverted triangular walls called pendentives. The four areas are covered
with mosaics of American saints - Rose Philippine Duchesne (a Religious
of the Sacred Heart whose good works in St. Louis were a portion of the
credentials that eventually admitted her to Heaven), Elizabeth Seton,
Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, and the North American Jesuit martyrs.
The south soffit notes important milestones of the establishment of the
Catholic Church in St. Louis, the first Mass, first baptism, and the
seal of the city. The east soffit is dedicated to the works of charity
of communities of sisters and brothers. The north soffit tells of the
founding and work of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in the United
States. The west soffit portrays the orders of dedicated teachers of St.
Louis parochial schools. The east half round wall speaks to the work of
Joseph Cardinal Ritter in desegregating the parochial schools of St.
Louis and the presentation of the Decree on Religious Freedom of Vatican
II. The west lunette depicts the Jesuit missionary thrust on the
frontier by Frs. Jean Marquette and Pierre DeSmet, and the on-going St.
Louis mission in Bolivia, South America. The brilliant blue cornice with
the vine of Christ behind the Byzantine style angels proclaiming the
eight Beatitudes was installed in 1927. On August 21, the
liturgical Feast of Pope St. Pius X who was the early 20th century
Pontiff who opened the door for children to receive Holy Communion, two
little kids approached my Communion line. The first was a boy with
pretty thick glasses for a kid of maybe 9. I held up the Body of Christ
and he recognized it with a head bow, crossed and extended hands, and an
AMEN. He received and then turned to his mom while lifting both arms in
a Rocky-esque pose. Why bother saying AMEN? The gesture said it all. Fr. Dan Mayall |
