St Mary of Redford High School - Rustic Yearbook (Detroit, MI)

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Qui' Church With a true feeling of pride and satisfaction we may look upon our new Church which has been dedicated, in a special manner, to our Blessed Mother. We are proud of St. Mary's because it is considered one of the notable structures in the country and because it represents the realization of our Pastor's fondest hopes. The Church was designed by Dr. Ralph Adams Cram. The exterior is of silver-gray granite, the trimmings and interior pillars being of lime- stone, and these, combined with the windows and furnishings, give us beauty materialized in stone, glass and metal. It may be of interest to learn, or to recall, why the particular style of architecture was chosen. A careful study of the early history of St. Mary's discloses that some of the pioneer Priests and a majority of the first Catholic settlers in the territory embraced in this Parish came from France. So it was thought fitting that the style of the new St. Mary Church should be distinctly French and thus be a symbolic monument to them. With this thought in mind, Dr. Cram visited France and found the architectural inspiration for his design in the southern part of the country. He based it upon the shrinebuilt during the Romanesque age, notably that of the Church of Notre Dame du Port, at Clermont-Ferrand, and other famous Churches at Nevers and Avallon. The first impression gained on entering the Church is one of beautiful simplicity. The visitor's attention is in turn attracted to the graceful suc- cession of rounded columns, arches, windows, aisles, and side-Chapels, to center in admiration upon the Sanctuary. The main Altar, intricately de- signed of marble, supports the Tabernacle which is as beautiful as it is possible for human hands to make. Two angels are depicted on the inside doors, with the words inscribed below them: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. The outside doors bear the inscription: I am the Bread of Life. Six emblems stand out in relief, each one containing insignia of the Passion of Christ. They are as follows: The hammer and lance, the cross and nails, the ladder, sponge, and spear, the sacred Face, Pilate's court of justice over which are scattered the thirty pieces of silver, and the seam- less garment. Immediately back of the main Altar a beautiful statue of our Blessed Mother stands as guardian. This position is, indeed, a very appropriate one, for She seems to dominate the whole body of the Church. The lofty square campanile, or bell tower, which rises to the right of the sanctuary, is a feature typical of the Romanesque period. It is, as it Page Eight

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Uur Church fContinuedJ were, a sermon in stone, for it can be seen for miles around, reminding those far and near that this is the House of God, a house of prayer. On either side of the sanctuary one may see a small chapel, carrying out the beauty of the plan. One is dedicated to our Blessed Mother and the other to St. Joseph. The Windows throughout the entire Church are works of art. The four sanctuary Windows were chosen with much deliberation and thought, for each conveys an exempliiication of one of the principal sacrifices of the Old Law that prefigure the sacrifice of the Mass. Above each is a medallion of a prophet of the Old Law and below a memorial to the prophets of the New Law. The Windows in the body of the Church are tributes to lVIary, for each illumines one of the mysteries of the Queen of Queens. As we study these beautiful works of art, we appreciate more and more the symbolism of each and begin to realize the value of the Gift of Faith, our most priceless heritage, which this beauteous structure exemplifies. ' OTTO SEABALDT, '27 Page Ten pfSr1fci:cs-ffe1bf1-ef1Qs,+L-w.fl?ffff?2va':'-fff':fwf:fH,sfg,ff':ff.:f-J, if 6 Q 5 4 l M 4 Q! if ll 1 w 4 U sl lil ll! ai U lik is all ll me U '1 K5 if H I-lr ll 2' 14 -an ll i X' I4 fi' ll 7 Il 'az il '94 fi ws lk 'S fit , 'Or T. 1 ?fKf,i 442 if-C vlfsfif-15-'Lif4iI4i.'TiIPQ3i inn-n-nnnxn-I i nu-dan: v A