THE STAINED GLASS OF WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL

It was clear and sunny the day we visited the Washington National Cathedral, so the sun shining through the stained glass windows created a kaleidoscope of colors on the massive pillars.

The cathedral is built in the shape of a cross and as you reach the point where the nave meets the two transept arms you normally have a great view of the cathedral's three beautiful rose windows. However during our visit two of the windows were covered with scaffolding so the only rose window visible was the Church Triumphant window in the south transept.

The Space Window commemorates the Apollo 11 mission to the moon and holds a piece of moon rock brought back by its crew. Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins delivered the seven-gram sample from the lunar Sea of Tranquility.

The clerestory or upper-level stained glass windows were designed by Rowan LeCompte. He was first commissioned for a stained glass window in the cathedral at the amazing age of sixteen! Check out the video interview with Mr. LeCompte here as he tells the story and shows how he and his partner made their final window for the cathedral.

War and Peace is the title of this brilliant stained glass window located in the Woodrow Wilson Bay. There are many images symbolizing events in the life of the president who is buried in the cathedral.

On December 8, 1891, in the Washington DC home of Charles C. Glover, a group of men met and decided to build the Washington Cathedral. This event is commemorated in these Glover Bay windows.

Scenes depicting the lush lands explored in the 1803 Lewis and Clark expedition make up these two windows. The sun shining through the colorful glass made the stone of the window bays brilliant with color.

These windows, located in the National Cathedral Association Bay, portray some of the roles of Christian women as "life-givers, healers, purifiers, and teachers".

Above the Abraham Lincoln Bay is this beautiful abstract-designed window titled The Agony of Civil War.

The last window is a brilliantly-colored clerestory window above the Bettelheim Bay...

For more information visit www.nationalcathedral.org.

All photos in this blog post were taken by my husband and me during our visit in September, 2013.

INSIDE THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL

Once inside the Washington National Cathedral it is hard not to immediately look up and be impressed by the sheer height of the cathedral.  Even through the protective netting which was installed after the August, 2011 earthquake to prevent debris falling on visitors, the enormous limestone pillars and colorful flags lead your eyes up to the beautiful stained glass windows and the vaulted ceiling.

As you walk up the nave you come to the beautiful Canterbury Pulpit. Stones for the pulpit came from Canterbury Cathedral in England.

 A close-up showing the detailed carvings on the pulpit.

As you walk around to the right of the pulpit, you come to several beautiful chapels.

The War Memorial Chapel honors those who have served in the United States military. 

The Suffering Christ artwork above the altar is made of torn sheets of brass in the halo to simulate brass cannon shells, the spikes inside the halo are cast aluminum colored to remind the viewer of barbed wire and the copper rays of light in the halo look like bayonets.

A statue of the Christ Child welcomes you into the Children's Chapel, built to the scale of a six-year-old child. Note how the chairs are child-size.

Two of the detailed carvings in the reredos in the Children's Chapel...

Around the corner is St. John's Chapel.

The altar has beautiful carvings showing the Crucifixion and the Last Supper...

Through an intricately-detailed wood doorway you enter into the area of the High Altar. 110 figures of men and women exemplifying the highest ideals of Christianity surround the central figure of Christ. The altar is made from stones quarried at Solomon's Quarry near Jerusalem, reputedly where the stones for Solomon's Temple were quarried.

A 180-degree turn shows you the choir...

Beautiful wood carving in the choir stalls...

 

On the other side of the High Altar is St. Mary's Chapel.

The ornate reredos shows scenes from the life of Jesus' mother.

On either side of the long nave are side bays with memorials to individuals who have be instrumental in the history of our nation either through exploration, military, politics, justice, philanthropy, service or unity. Within and above those bays are some of the 200+ stained glass windows. 

In the next post I will show you some of that gorgeous stained glass. It was clear and sunny the day we visited the cathedral and the colorful effects of the sun shining through the stained glass were stunning.
 
For more information visit www.nationalcathedral.org.

All photos in this blog post were taken by my husband and me during our visit in September, 2013.

WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL

We recently spent five days in our nation's capitol, Washington DC.  Our first stop was the Washington National Cathedral.

Since the cathedral isn't in the main tourist area and some walking distance from the nearest Metro stop, I decided to book Old Town Trolley tours. The hop on/hop off trolley tour offered a relaxing, narrated tour of the city from their Welcome Center up to the cathedral. 

The Cathedral is officially known as the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The foundation stone was laid in 1907 in the presence of President Theodore Roosevelt, and the Cathedral was completed 83 years later when the final finial was placed in the presence of President George H.W. Bush. The Cathedral is the sixth largest in the world. Built of Indiana limestone, the Cathedral's architectural style is Gothic...

with pointed arches, ribbed vaulting, large windows, flying buttresses...

and characterized by great height and pointed arches. The piers soar nearly 100 feet to the vaulted ceiling. The flags hanging down represent each state in the United States, the District of Columbia and U. S. territories in the order the states entered the union. One state each week is remembered in prayer services..

These Gothic features are not only beautiful but serve a structural purpose. The weight of the roof passes downward along the vaulting and then onto the piers, where it is resisted by the flying buttresses. Because the walls do not support the weight of the roof, they can be thin and tall, permitting large windows decorated with stained glass...

Throughout the cathedral, the architecture, art, wood, stone, wrought iron and stained glass inspire. Over the next several blog posts I will show you more of the beauty of our nation's Cathedral. 

For more information visit www.nationalcathedral.org.

All photos in this blog post were taken by my husband and me during our visit in September, 2013.

83,000 SQUARE FEET OF MOSAICS

About a year ago I traveled to St. Louis for a surprise 60th birthday party for my brother.  I have always wanted to visit the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis because of my love for both churches and mosaics (also two of my favorite things to see in Europe!).  There are over 83,000 square feet of mosaics in this church created by 20 different artists over a 75 year period.

My pictures don't do it justice; this church has to be seen in person.

Construction of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis began in 1907.  The architecture of the exterior is Romanesque, with granite walls, rose windows and two massive towers.  The brilliant green-tiled main dome and the pitched roofs are a prominent sight in the St. Louis skyline.

This is just the narthex...

Many of the mosaics on the narthex's walls depict the life of the patron saint of the city, Louis IX, King of France:

And the narthex's barrel vaulted ceiling is covered by a swirling green vine symbolic of Christ, who is also portrayed in the central mosaic:

It's impossible to describe the beauty of this church.  Walking into the main part of the church, I just gasped at the incredible beauty.  Standing at the back of the church I could only marvel that every inch is covered in brilliant mosaics.

In the photo above you can just make out the red mosaics of the great central dome.  The photo below shows the central dome in all its brilliance.  The dome rises 143 feet from the floor to the central spotlight.  The mosaic panels are dedicated to, clockwise from the top: the woman of the Apocalypse; Ezekial the Prophet; the Holy Trinity; and Elias taken up to heaven in the fiery chariot.  The sixteen angels between the windows of the dome represent eight archangels and eight commemorative angels.  The four large angels of the pendentives depict, clockwise from the top right: Ecclesiastical authority; New Testament; Old Testament; and civil authority.

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 on the historic dome.  On these pendentives are mosaics of American saints.

The east transept mosaic portrays Christ's resurrection and His appearance to the woman, Mary, and His disciples at Emmaus.

The west transept mosaic, rendered in flaming colors of red, violet and blue pictures the occasion of the Holy Spirit's descent on the apostles inspiring them to go forth and preach the Word of God.

In the sanctuary dome mosaics picture the twelve apostles...

The dome of the baldachino imitates the main exterior dome of the Cathedral...

The white marble figure of Christ crucified dominates the sanctuary.

The red color of this ambulatory ceiling recalls the suffering of Christ...

At the end of this ambulatory is a statue of Louis IX...

The Bishop's Hall contains Italian style mosaics of the coats of arms of the men who have served as bishops and archbishops of the St. Louis diocese.

The Blessed Virgin's Chapel created by Tiffany and Company...

The All Saints Chapel is also the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany...

The magnificent Arch of Triumph has Christ the Savior as its central motif.  John the Baptist is on His left with the prophets and kings of the Old Testament and the Virgin Mary is on His right with apostles and saints of the New Testament.

This church is one of the most magnificent I've ever seen.

With mosaics as beautiful as any I've seen in anywhere...

Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis

4431 Lindell Boulevard

St. Louis, MO   63108

• Cathedral is open every day from 7:00 AM until 5:00 PM.
• Tours are offered daily between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM.
• Contact the tour office at 314.373.8240 for tour reservations.
• I encourage everyone to visit the cathedral to experience the beauty of the mosaics, but remember only tours are guaranteed to people who have reservations.
• For more information: http://www.cathedralstl.org/