Week Seventy-Three - St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption (Covington)
4:30 Saturday afternoon mass, see above. As the seat of the Archdiocese of Covington and the home of St. Mary's Parish, I'm sure "St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption" couldn't be more accurate - or wordy, so for this entry, I'll just go with the "Covington Cathedral." I do like the word "basilica" though. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the term "basilica" can indicate either the architectural style of a church or its canonical status. This bluegrass basilica meets both sets of criteria.
There are four "major" basilicas in the world, all in Rome. The Covington Cathedral is designated as a "minor" basilica, one of the 35 lesser basilicas in the United States. Construction on the cathedral began in 1894 and ended in 1915. "St. Mary's Cathedral" became a basilica in 1953. Although it apparently is still largely unfinished even today, for the life of me, I don't know where that would be as everything here certainly looks finished, especially in the most precise, polished sense of the word.
It really doesn't get any better than this. 80% of the walls are actually stained glass windows, over 80 of them in total, and each one of them is spectacular. The celebrating priest even referred to one of them in his homily, pointing out a detail that would have easily been overlooked. Of course, there's a lot that can be easily and inadvertently overlooked here. There is just so much to see. For many years, the north transept window, referred to as the "Great Stained Glass Window," held the honor of being the largest hand-blown stained glass window in the world. The world, people. THE WORLD. Although the church's website still claims that title, other sources argue that the record-holding window is now in - of all places - a mausoleum in Illinois. Now really, let's think about this. If you're gonna go big, wouldn't you rather make the investment for the living than for . . . well . . . you know.
The stations of the cross are mosaics, incredibly detailed pieces of Italian artistry, each containing 70,000 to 80,000 pieces of ceramic porcelain. Placed at eye-level, it's easy to take a closer look at them. Be prepared to be amazed. Did I say there's a lot to see here? There are arches and pillars and woodwork. I wouldn't be surprised if the church is taller than it is long. The lighting is also well done, perfectly highlighting many of the details within the church for even greater drama. It's beautiful. It really is.
The Christmas decorations were still up, as I had hoped, but were fairly subdued - sprigs of evergreen and red ribbon on the pews, poinsettias at the altar. I didn't get a close look, but a large nativity scene, almost life-sized, was set off to the side of the sanctuary.
According to the cathedral's website, each of their three weekend masses is distinctly differerent from the others. The Saturday afternoon mass is intended to be a "quiet and contemplative" mass with organ music for accompaniment. Yes, this mass definitely fit the bill, made even more so by the small congregation. The Covington Cathedral is a large church, not a huge one, but I was surprised by the noticeably low number in attendance. Why wouldn't you want to come here?
The huge pipe organ showcased in a balcony on the south side of the cathedral sounded quite good, but - for future reference - when exiting after mass, I noticed the organ sounded significantly louder - and better - the closer you were to the front of the church. It was a traditional mass. Hymns were oldies-but-goodies. Even a bit of Latin showed up. That little bit was enough to renew my interest in going to an all-Latin mass. I've got all the details ready, but in spite of reassurances from those churches celebrating Latin masses to just "follow your neighbor's lead if you are unsure what to do," I still have to work up my nerve a bit . . . and buy a chapel veil.
There are four "major" basilicas in the world, all in Rome. The Covington Cathedral is designated as a "minor" basilica, one of the 35 lesser basilicas in the United States. Construction on the cathedral began in 1894 and ended in 1915. "St. Mary's Cathedral" became a basilica in 1953. Although it apparently is still largely unfinished even today, for the life of me, I don't know where that would be as everything here certainly looks finished, especially in the most precise, polished sense of the word.
It really doesn't get any better than this. 80% of the walls are actually stained glass windows, over 80 of them in total, and each one of them is spectacular. The celebrating priest even referred to one of them in his homily, pointing out a detail that would have easily been overlooked. Of course, there's a lot that can be easily and inadvertently overlooked here. There is just so much to see. For many years, the north transept window, referred to as the "Great Stained Glass Window," held the honor of being the largest hand-blown stained glass window in the world. The world, people. THE WORLD. Although the church's website still claims that title, other sources argue that the record-holding window is now in - of all places - a mausoleum in Illinois. Now really, let's think about this. If you're gonna go big, wouldn't you rather make the investment for the living than for . . . well . . . you know.
The stations of the cross are mosaics, incredibly detailed pieces of Italian artistry, each containing 70,000 to 80,000 pieces of ceramic porcelain. Placed at eye-level, it's easy to take a closer look at them. Be prepared to be amazed. Did I say there's a lot to see here? There are arches and pillars and woodwork. I wouldn't be surprised if the church is taller than it is long. The lighting is also well done, perfectly highlighting many of the details within the church for even greater drama. It's beautiful. It really is.
The Christmas decorations were still up, as I had hoped, but were fairly subdued - sprigs of evergreen and red ribbon on the pews, poinsettias at the altar. I didn't get a close look, but a large nativity scene, almost life-sized, was set off to the side of the sanctuary.
According to the cathedral's website, each of their three weekend masses is distinctly differerent from the others. The Saturday afternoon mass is intended to be a "quiet and contemplative" mass with organ music for accompaniment. Yes, this mass definitely fit the bill, made even more so by the small congregation. The Covington Cathedral is a large church, not a huge one, but I was surprised by the noticeably low number in attendance. Why wouldn't you want to come here?
The huge pipe organ showcased in a balcony on the south side of the cathedral sounded quite good, but - for future reference - when exiting after mass, I noticed the organ sounded significantly louder - and better - the closer you were to the front of the church. It was a traditional mass. Hymns were oldies-but-goodies. Even a bit of Latin showed up. That little bit was enough to renew my interest in going to an all-Latin mass. I've got all the details ready, but in spite of reassurances from those churches celebrating Latin masses to just "follow your neighbor's lead if you are unsure what to do," I still have to work up my nerve a bit . . . and buy a chapel veil.
ATTENDANCE: Mostly empty
DURATION: One hour
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