St Margarets Academy - Dayseye Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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--------------------£ CU CA C- --------------- the most competent architects, all of whom have pronounced it unique and grand among the churches of America. The great project of erecting this stately edifice was launched by the late Archbishop John Ireland, was carried on by the former pastor. Reverend Thomas E. Cullen, and was brought to its now near glorious finish by the present pastor. Reverend James M. Reardon. The beautiful plan of the Basilica is the creation of the late E. L. Mas-queray, who spent on it intense thought, labor and research, and applied to its designing, the grandeur and simplicity of the cathedrals of Albi and Cahora. The style is an exquisite example of modern renaissance, generated from a combination of lintel constuction with Greco-Roman ornamentation, of which iMichael Angelo was one of the great exponents. Upon entering the vestibule of the majestic nave, the observer is impressed by the simplicity and grandeur of the interior. The rich Mankato stone walls, varying in shade from cream to buff, lend themselves harmoniously to the blue and gold, always Mary’s own colors. The wealth of the renaissance ornamentation in the arched ceiling of the; nave is a feast for the eye of the artist. The bronze-crowned confessionals along the side ambulatories are of white Tavernellc marble. The Stations of the Cross will be erected in the spaces between the confessionals. The chapels of Our Lady of Lourdes. Saint Joseph, the Sacred Heart. Saint Ann. Saint Patrick and the Little Flower are not yet completed. The beautiful stained glass windows, symbolizing the principal events in the life of the Blessed Virgin, and the Prophets who foretold the Messiah, are the work of Thomas J. Gaytee. of Minneapolis. The main rose window at the right of the Sanctuary, is the memorial window of the late Archbishop John Ireland. Approaching the Sanctuary from the east ambulatory, just at the entrance, is the wonderful Calvary Group, the Dying Savior, the Sorrowing Mother, and the Faithful John. The group was hand-carved from a single piece of Mankato stone, by John B. Garatti. of St. Paul. Our accomplished sculptor must have [16 1

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li e IB asllica of Saint Mary A Ll HOUGH very splendid and graphic descriptions of the Basilica of Saint Mary have appeared in recent publications, the Dayesye staff feel that they would sacrifice a page of glory were they not to enshrine between these covers, a glimpse of this great gem of art. From any angle of our campus, this magnificent structure attracts our gaze upward. It is an honor to Minneapolis. It is a lasting testimonial of the people's love and devotion to Christ, the King. Standing on an eminence in an ideal spot in our city, the twin towers lift their snowy whiteness to the sapphire skies. The golden cross, surmounting the dome, catches the amber dawn, glistens in the midday splendor, and scatters soft, soothing rays from the moonlight, and the blinking stars. From within and from without, this majestic pile of white Mount Airy granite seems to have caught some of the glory and splendor of the age-famed Temple of Mount Moriah. Its surpassing beauty has attracted the interest of 115 1

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----------------oDays U £. ----------------- a great meditative mind, so perfectly has he caught the tragically sad expressions which must have been on the faces of the original Group of Golgotha. The intense, resigned agony on the dying Savior's face would move a heart of stone. The Sanctuary is appropriately the crowning glory of the Basilica. Here some artist’s great heart is built into the sculptured stone, and his great mind is etched in the wondrous scheme of beauty, which is. as Byron said of a great Roman Basilica. A fit abode wherein appear enshrined the hopes of immortality.” Surrounding the Sanctuary on three sides is a beautiful wrought iron grille, supported by twelve green Cippolin marble columns, each carved from a solid block. On a ledge of marble, supported by these twelve pillars, are life size figures of the Apostles. These figures are each carved from a solid block of Botticino marble, and are exact duplicates of the group in the Basilica of Saint John Latern in Rome. The all-marble baldachino. executed in Botticino Italian marble, with its huge columns of colored Pavonazzo. forms a fit setting for the main altar, which stands directly under the richly decorated dome. The altar, of white Carrara marble, is hand-carved, and carries no other decorations, save the golden door. On the summit of the baldachino. stands Mary Immaculate, in all her virgin beauty. Queen and Mistress of the House of God. So stands our great Basilica, simple, erect, sublime, keeping tranquil vigil over our loved city, and the busy throngs that hurry by. As we close this chapter of our book, our hearts spontaneously re-echo the prayer of the late Archbishop Ireland in his beautiful apostrophe to the Pro-Cathedral on the occasion of the Civic Dedication. November 2. 1913. I 17 1