Photo courtesy of the Cathedral of the Incarnation
Spotlight On...
Cathedral of the Incarnation,
Nashville, TN
The Cathedral of the Incarnation is the second parish in the Diocese of Nashville. Construction of the cathedral began in 1910, lasted four and a half years and was formally dedicated on July 26, 1914.
The cathedral resembles a typical Roman basilica: rectangular in shape serving as a court of law during the Roman Empire. The exterior is comprised of yellow glazed brick and a red tile roof which was modeled after the church of San Martino ai Monti in Rome. The tower, rising 100 feet above the Cathedral, is a replica of St. Damase in Rome.
The cathedral interior is decorated in 13th-century Italian Renaissance style. Just two of the many beautiful features are the ceiling and clerestory windows. The ceiling is made of an ornamental plaster called rigalico. Upon the plaster, symbols associated with the death of Jesus are placed in the north end of the nave, while His birth is represented near the sanctuary on the south end. The clerestory windows were designed to provide light and to focus one's attention on the sanctuary. They include blue-flashed glass hand blown in France, antique lead crystal glass, a clear glass that forms a checkerboard effect, prisms and floral patterns made from glass paint. On sunny days, the prisms cast rainbows throughout the Cathedral.
The editor of The Catholic Spirit in St. Paul, Minn., Joe Towalski, points out that flags are flying at half-staff today in Minnesota to honor the heroic sacrifice of four Army chaplains who died while saving others after their troop transport ship was torpedoed in the North Atlantic 60 years ago during World War II. [...]
JERUSALEM ' The sound of schoolboys playing and roughhousing echoes off stone walls as they run up an alley on their way home after a day of classes. An elderly man follows, admonishing them to settle down and stop disturbing the neighborhood. Shopkeepers urge visitors to check out their wares. ?What can I show you?? [...]
JERUSALEM ' Traveling with a busload of his fellow priests through the Holy Land is giving Cardinal-designate Timothy M. Dolan of New York the opportunity to reflect on what his upcoming investiture as cardinal means for his priesthood. ?Just to be here ' at a pivotal moment in your life, a time of transition, (that) [...]
Catholic newspapers in their editorial pages have strongly and consistently criticized the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services since its Jan. 20 announcement that there will be no change to a narrowly drawn religious exemption to a new federal mandate that all private employers provide no-cost contraception and sterilization in their health care plans. The HHS said [...]
Here is the text of 'Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization,' Pope Benedict XVI's message for this year's World Communications Day, marked in most dioceses the Sunday before Pentecost, which this year is May 20. The message was released Jan. 24, the feast of St. Francis de Sales. Dear Brothers and Sisters, As we draw near to [...]
