Church hopping

I've mentioned that I can hear church bells from our apartment from the Greek Orthodox church on the west end of town, and that I also hear church bells as I walk from my car to my office at the other end of town (a three to six minute drive, depending on how I hit the traffic lights.)

You might recall the picture I posted the Catholic church towers in the snow fall. In that post I mused that I hoped to go inside the Cathedral some day.

Well, last Wednesday turned out to be the day.

I needed to hike up the block on a work related errand, and since I need to get some addtional exercise to clear my mind...I decided to cross the street and pop in on the Cathedral of the Madeleine on my break.

Yes, those are gargoyles peering out from the sides of the building.

Cheery little gargoyle, huh?
The church has a total of eight of them guarding from the four corners of the two towers.

(I managed to "borrow" this close up image from another blogger who was visiting from Texas...figured she wouldn't mind being neighborly to another ex patriot Texan...)

The front door is unlocked, but the one I entered wasn't the only one.

Doesn't it look cool?

I'd love to know why the two circles are designed to be different.
They must have some special meaning, don't you think?

Inside: oh wow. wow. wow. (said very quietly...)

A woman was kneeling in the aisle. I thought she was having a moment of reverence, but it turned out she was setting up a shot with her camera, and her head was bowed as she figured out her camera settings.

The church broke ground in 1899 and the Cathedral was completed 10 years later, at a cost that near broke the 3,000 Catholic congregants, although most of the funding came from wealthy local mining operators.

I thought I recognized the art style as coming from that decade. It is so similar to the cover art of books published during that time.

The big window that graces the front of the church as view on the outside seemed rather minor compared to the organ pipes.
I found it very comforting to see the Scriptures written out.

I miss seeing that touch in modern churches.

I sure wish my camera did better with the far away shots...
And that I had taken a picture of the baptistry in the entrance. It was deep enough to submerge an adult...and I had always thought Catholics were only into the sprinkle baptism.

The Cathedral was lovely, even on a rather ordinary Wednesday early afternoon.
And while I am not Catholic, our shared scriptures and foundational faith was evidenced in the art and beauty of the place.

Well worth the walk, and I'm sure I will drop by to reflect upon the images on occasion there again.
(Probably when I have visiting friends with better camera than I have!)