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Walking Tour of St. John Berchmans Cathedral
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EXTERIOR The architecture of the Cathedral is a mixture of
Tudor and modified Gothic. The
Tudor influence is present in the exposed beams within the church.
The Gothic influence which came from the Germanic tribes is
present in the pointed arches over the doorways and at the main altar,
side altars and between the columns within the church.
It is modified Gothic because it does not have the flying
buttresses present in true Gothic architecture.
The cornerstone, laid in 1927 and written in Latin, loosely
translated, reads:
On
July 31, 1927, while Pope Pius XI is happily reigning and Cornelius Van
de Ven is Bishop, under the good auspices of the Jesuit Fathers ... this
special stone is blessed, dedicated and placed in a solemn ceremony as a
stone commemorating the building of the Church in honor of St. John
Berchmans and for the greater glory of God. |
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THE
VESTIBULE was part of an extensive renovation in 1992-1994.
As we step inside there are two statues, the one on the left is
St. Francis Xavier and the one on the right is St. Alphonsus Rodriguez,
both Jesuits (a priest and a brother, respectively) who achieved sainthood.
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room on the west end of the vestibule was originally the
baptistery. Its three stained glass windows are: Jesus and
Nicodemus, John the Baptist, and Jesus and St. Francis Xavier.
The marble and mosaic Baptismal font rested in the middle
of the room. Later
this room was turned into the Bride's Room, but when the church
was remodeled it became the Bishop's Dressing Room. |
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On
the East side of the Vestibule, are restrooms large enough to
accommodate wheelchairs. The
stairs go up to the choir loft.
The two stained glass windows above the stairway depict St.
Theresa of Avila, a doctor of the Church (pictured
right) and St. Gregory
the Great. |
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THE
CHOIR LOFT The three
great windows, the one in the choir loft and the two in the transept,
tell the complete story of the life of St. Ignatius Loyola, and the
founding of the Jesuit order; they were executed by Emil Frei.
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In
the two center panels of the Choir Window, we have St. Ignatius'
vision of Christ, his King, entitled "King of Kings" (pictured
left) and the
portrayal of Mary as Queen of the Society of Jesus.
At the top of these center panels we see the coat of arms
of St. Ignatius and of the Pope.
Below the center panels Ignatius is shown writing his
famous Book of the Spiritual Exercises in the cave of Manresa
and chastising himself. In
the left hand panels, from top to bottom, there are:
St. Michael the Archangel; St. Ignatius converting St.
Francis Xavier; and St. Raphael the Archangel.
In the right hand panels, from top to bottom, there are:
St. Gabriel, the Archangel, St. Ignatius kneeling before
an altar, entitled "Master of Spiritual Exercises;"
and St. George in armor. |
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