My niece was married yesterday at the Basilica Cathedral in St. Louis.  The beauty of the Cathedral is overwhelming.  Here are some attempts of capturing that.  Sorry I'm not a better photographer.

Another note.....what cannot be captured in the photo's is the sound.  Hearing the chior sing in the Cathedral can bring goosebumps on your skin and tears to your eyes. 

The Alter
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Ceiling under the dome
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Adam & Eve
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Outside View
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Angel of Harmony
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Rhetorical question: Do you think a mosaic artist could visit St. Louis  for the first time in her life and not plan an entire day seeing this beauty?

;)

Brew wrote on May 9^th, 2009 at 11:49am:

Rhetorical question: Do you think a mosaic artist could visit St. Louis  for the first time in her life and not plan an entire day seeing this beauty? ;)

I don't think that's possible Brew.  The Catheral is a must see.

I agree!!!  This looks like a MUST SEE !!  (DAYUM!!!  Did I just agree with Brew?)

That place looks GORGEOUS!!!

Chuck

That is a beautiful place to be.  I'm afraid I'd have missed all the wedding ceremony - too busy looking around.  Thanks for sharing.

Carol

I think I will have to add that to my list of picture taking jaunts.  I've been to St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans (which is the oldest cathedral in the US), so I'll have to see this one now.

Brew,
You may have to tie Pat down to keep her from going.  It has the world's largest collection of mosaic art.

deltadarlin wrote on May 9^th, 2009 at 1:03pm:

Brew, You may have to tie Pat down to keep her from going.  It has the world's largest collection of mosaic art.

Pshaw - like that would keep me from going. . .  :o

I'm very much looking forward to it.

Absolutely beautiful!!!!  Breathtaking!!!!!

I went through it on our way to Richmond convention 2 years ago.   Breath-taking doesn't even come close.  There is a museum downstairs with a red velvet chair that Pope John Paul sat in.  I  brought some literature and fliers for  Pat to see when we got to Richmond.

The Cathedral is exactly 16 miles from the convention hotel this year.  (probably about a 10 min. drive on the highway) I know Pat and Ruthie will be going, I just wish Bente was going to be there, so she could see this place.  I know she would be enthralled.

Linda_Howell wrote on May 9^th, 2009 at 3:24pm:

I went through it on our way to Richmond convention 2 years ago.   Breath-taking doesn't even come close.  There is a museum downstairs with a red velvet chair that Pope John Paul sat in.  I  brought some literature and fliers for  Pat to see when we got to Richmond. The Cathedral is exactly 16 miles from the convention hotel this year.  (probably about a 10 min. drive on the highway) I know Pat and Ruthie will be going, I just wish Bente was going to be there, so she could see this place.  I know she would be enthralled.

We'll probably drag Christy and Joe along too - Joe is harder to hog tie - he knows how to get out. . .

Like something you'd see in Rome! WOW! :o

Joe

(Who really won't have to be hog tied to go!) ;)

Oh I love church artwork!  Thank you for the pics Beth! :)

Mosaicwench wrote on May 9^th, 2009 at 1:38pm:

deltadarlin wrote on May 9th, 2009 at 1:03pm: Brew, You may have to tie Pat down to keep her from going.  It has the world's largest collection of mosaic art. Pshaw - like that would keep me from going. . .  :o I'm very much looking forward to it.

Me too! Me Too! What time is Mass on Saturday night?

Here ya go Christy...but Saturday is the Banquet dinner and auction, so keep that in mind.  ;)


Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis, Missouri is also known as the Saint Louis Cathedral. Located in the Central West End, the church was built in the early 20th century and was a replacement for the Church of St. Louis IX, King of France located on the riverfront since 1770. The cathedral was designated as a basilica on April 4th, 1979, by the late Pope John Paul the II.

During 1912, the installation of mosaics began on the interior. The project was finally completed in 1988, and now contains some 41.5 million pieces of glass tesserae pieces using over 7,000 different colors. The mosaic covers over 83,000 square feet, and were created by over 20 different artists and is one of the largest mosaic collections in the world.

In the basement of the church, there is a museum and artifacts that have been found within the cathedral over the centuries. Also located in the lower level, is a mortuary chapel which contains the remains of former leaders of the archdioceses. The remains of Cardinals John J. Glennon, John Carberry and Joseph Ritter are interred in the crypts.

Outside of the Cathedral stands the Angel of Harmony. The statue stands 14 feet high and is made of welded stainless steel, by native St. Louis artist Wiktor Szostalo. The statue was installed on the grounds of the Cathedral in 1999, and is located in between the rectory and the church. It is of an African-American angel that stands behind three children of Hispanic, Asian and European descent. The wings of the statue are made of wind chimes and are designed to represent peace, harmony and racial justice.

The organ inside the church is another unique feature of the basilica. The organ was the last one built by the Kilgen Organ Company in 1915, and originally had four keyboards, one in the gallery and another behind the sanctuary. A new organ was installed inside the Cathedral in 1946; it had 77 pipes with 14 of them coming from the original organ. In 1984, the organ was refurbished by the M.P. Moller organ company and in 1997; the Wicks Organ Company from Highland, Illinois began the task of restoring the organ. An additional number of pipes were added, bringing the total to 96 ranks of pipes. In the winter of 2002, the gallery organ was expanded and the old console was replaced. The original Kilgen console was then moved to the basement museum where it remains on display today.

Anyone is invited to visit the Cathedral and tour the mosaics and basement museum. There are daily masses held Monday through Friday at 7 and 8 a.m., and again at 12 p.m. On Saturday there is an 8 am through 5 pm vigil held and on Sunday Mass is held from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and again at 12 p.m. There is a separate confession schedule held separate from Mass, as well as Eucharist Adoration, Evening Prayer and Benedictions, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and Stations of the Holy Cross, are held during the Lent season. Even though the Cathedral is officially considered to be "finished'', there are continuous changes and improvements being made by each generation that leaves an indelible imprint of the church for future generations to appreciate.

I've lived here my whole life and never been there.  Thanks for sharing the pictures, Beth.

Jeannie wrote on May 11^th, 2009 at 9:59am:

I've lived here my whole life and never been there.  Thanks for sharing the pictures, Beth.

same here  :-[

Nice pics Beth

I hadn't been there since I was in 4th grade when I, along with a couple other students, were chosen to attend a service during the school day.  (That was a big deal, getting to leave school during the day)

I only wish I had more time to look around.  I, along with many others, were taking pics the entire time.  LOL

The Priest was almost bursting with enthusiasim getting to say mass at the same place as Pope John Paul.  The Priest (I do not recall his name) has a very interesting story.  While a young man in Seminary School, he met a girl, fell in love, left the Seminary School, married and had children.  He was married for 40 years when his wife passed away.  With his childrens encouragement, he returned to Seminary School and became a Priest.  I found out this story because I and others noticed he was wearing a wedding ring.  You never know what life is going to bring!  This is the condensed version.  I'm sure it was a battle for him to finally accomplish what he started over 40 years earlier.  You never know what life is going to bring!

Beth

Linda Said:

Quote:

Here ya go Christy...but Saturday is the Banquet dinner and auction, so keep that in mind.

Ok, guess it's Thurs or Fri morning for me then.

It's a beautiful thing!

Charlie