Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis

I have had only one other opportunity to visit the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis - midnight mass on Christmas Eve with a friend of mine who was kind and generous enough to explain what was going on to a non-Catholic. It was a beautiful Mass and it was a beautiful building and I told myself I'd come back. A local photography group had a meetup there, and I made sure I was able to go - we spent about 2 hours photographing our brains out and I don't think I saw HALF of the place.

It started in 1907 and was finished finally in its current state in 1988. It was designated a Cathedral Basilica by Pope John Paul II who visited in 1999. It is grand both in size (several of the domes are multiple stories high) and in decor - from Tiffany glass to gold in the mosaics that decorate most of the surfaces in the building.  The mosiacis contain 41.5 million glass pieces in more than 7,000 colors including various shades of gold and a shade of red that can never be replicated. The mosaics cover 83,000 square feet, making it one of the largest mosaics in the world.

I could talk for awhile on the beauty and splendor of the place, and even though I'm not a Catholic, you can't help but feel a deep respect and appreciation for the beautiful building. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

                                     


           

To see more, check out this set.