Supplied with a reasonable stash of Belgian chocolate (which lasted post-cruise for a week or so), we walked over to the Boardwalk which fronts one of the prettiest stretches of beach on St. Maarten.
Strolling down towards the water taxi pier we came across the St. Martin of Tours church. If you follow my blog, you know I stop for churches, no matter their size or location. When I saw this pretty church located right on the beach, I had to go inside.
The church is named after St. Martin of Tours, who lived in 4th-century France and became one of the most famous of the Christian saints. One story told is he once cut his cloak in half to give to a beggar. A statue of the bishop was dedicated in 2012 and stands at the entrance to the church. A plaque to the right of the entrance gives a brief biography of the saint.
What a beautiful, colorful interior befitting a church located on a Caribbean island. It is not a small church; there is also a section of pews on both sides of the main nave. Statues of saints line both sides of the nave.
The beautiful altar with the large crucifix behind it.
As you enter the church you see a set of colorful tiles on the wall which tell stories of the life of St. Martin including the middle one which shows the saint giving part of his cloak to a beggar.
There is a shrine to the Lady of La Salette (the Virgin Mary) just outside the entrance to the church. In the French town of La Salette in the mid-19th century, two French children, Melanie and Maximin, came upon "a beautiful lady" wearing a white robe weeping by the side of the road, her elbows on her knees and her hands covering her face. When Mary saw the children, she asked them to come to her. Mary told the children to warn people to stop taking the Name of her Son in vain and respect the Sabbath as a day of rest. If not, their harvests will be spoiled. One side of the shrine has two statues of Mary, one standing and one weeping.
The other side of the shrine again shows a statue of Mary between statues of the two children.
We spent a few minutes in this peaceful sanctuary before walking along the beach. We discovered on our last visit that this beach is great for hunting for shells. Afterwards we took the water taxi back to the ship. Our cruise was coming to an end...we would dock back in San Juan the following morning.
Thank you for visiting,
A Great Europe Trip Planner
All photos were taken by my husband and me during our visit to St. Maarten.
Strolling down towards the water taxi pier we came across the St. Martin of Tours church. If you follow my blog, you know I stop for churches, no matter their size or location. When I saw this pretty church located right on the beach, I had to go inside.
The church is named after St. Martin of Tours, who lived in 4th-century France and became one of the most famous of the Christian saints. One story told is he once cut his cloak in half to give to a beggar. A statue of the bishop was dedicated in 2012 and stands at the entrance to the church. A plaque to the right of the entrance gives a brief biography of the saint.
What a beautiful, colorful interior befitting a church located on a Caribbean island. It is not a small church; there is also a section of pews on both sides of the main nave. Statues of saints line both sides of the nave.
The back of the church...
As you enter the church you see a set of colorful tiles on the wall which tell stories of the life of St. Martin including the middle one which shows the saint giving part of his cloak to a beggar.
The other side of the shrine again shows a statue of Mary between statues of the two children.
Thank you for visiting,
A Great Europe Trip Planner
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