Just inside the massive cathedral doors is a type of second doorway with these beautiful etched glass panels. Here's the first of many Madonnas and flowers. There were fresh flowers everywhere. The cathedral was completed in 1895.
There were statues of saints everywhere you looked.
Madonna and child surrounded by angels, cherubim and heavenly hosts.
A small wooden confessional. (At least, I think that's what this is.) All that acanthus scrollwork is carved in stone. Look at the scale compared to the confessional.
Everything was spectacular - the ceilings, the columns, the floors.... everything. This is looking up into the organ loft. Money raised to repair the organ had to be spend on structural repairs. They're starting again with the fundraising efforts. I can't imagine what's involved in maintaining this building.
The chandeliers were spectacular, French crystal, and they were hanging everywhere.
There were altars in each of the four corners of the church. This is the one with the Baptismal Font.
Our Lady of Guadelupe.
This beautiful altar was at the front of the church, to the right of the main altar.
I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of the fourth altar. But here's the main altar.
Yes, it was that beautiful and the dome was that blue.
It's magic during the daytime, I cannot imagine this place at night.
It convinced me of one thing. I could go to Europe and tour every cathedral on the continent and never tire of seeing them. There are so many things to wonder about. I hope you enjoyed seeing the interior. We have one more fascinating place to visit in Mexico but we might take a short break because there are some other items I'd like to cover.
If you liked that church, check out this one. It's a Norwegian "Stave" church in Rapid City, South Dakota.
See you tomorrow.
15 comments:
OH how beautiful!! Thanks for sharing all that with us! The blue is SO BLUE!
btw, your email is not working right I dont think.. I keep getting a return undeliverable msg..... maybe you dont want to talk to me... *bites bottom lip*
As a Catholic, I thank you from the heart for this lovely tour. I agree, seeing all the cathedrals and churches in Europe would be wonderful.
*whispering*
Thank you for the tour.
It was lovely.
Catholics certainly know how to build beautiful churches! Wonderful tour!
Wonderful! I love seeing and visiting other's people places of worship. My favorite day trips here in Arizona are going south to visit the 300 year old cathedrals. I just love the decor that is left after such a long time and run my imagination crazy at trying to visualize what they were at one time. Very incredible.
my husband and i did this cruise last year, and i wish we would have visited here instead of going on the LAME excursion we chose!
thanks for sharing this! :)
Heidi - I don't know. I checked out the info in my profile and it seems correct. Here's my correct email address. Try this and let me know (answer me here in comments).
Abscissa63@aol.com
Anybody else can feel free to e-mail me. I'm always up for some correspondence!
Sarah - My mom is Catholic and I bought some type of rosary in the cathedral courtyard. I was especially taken with all the saints.
Chocolatechic - "whispering" I'm so glad you came along. You're always fun to have on field trips.
Louise - I was unbelievable. I think that most of the craftsmen who do this kind of work are dead. My friends father was a decorative stonecutter. The last of a breed, I'm afraid.
Lucy - On our next excursion we're going to see a very old and rural church that is as simple as this one is ornate. My imagination runs wild also. When I lived in San Antonio we would search out the old mission churches.
Shan - Which tour did you go on? I spend lots of time going over the brochure, agonizing about which tour to take. This was a very long day but a very interesting city tour.
What a beautiful church! Thank you.
Thanks for this wonderful tour inside the cathedral! I've seen all the major cathedrals in Italy, and this one compares very well with them.
Hey Suzanne; What a beautiful Cathedral. Such gorgeous detail in every thing. To be able to stand there in person must have been a serial experience. thank you for sharing the lovely photos..
Hugs;
Alaura
I love places like this. I consider it an 'art gallery'. I have seen many gorgeous churches in Quebec. Lovely. Iconic.
What a gorgeous church. I've always been so envious of Catholics - they have the prettiest churches in the world! Gorgeous
The archways really are gorgeous! I love how intricate everything is... it's something that seems to be lost these days!
This came just at the right time, when I'm trying to be "holy" for lent. I'm Catholic and really appreciate these beautiful pictures. I can hear the choir as I look; always whispering!
That was so pretty! I was away for a while and felt I'd been left out, now that I'm back to blogger land I can finish my --your trip!
I love Cathedrals! Have you ever been to The Grotto of Redemption in IA? Its pretty cool!
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