Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
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The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, commonly known as the Saint Louis Cathedral, or colloquially as the New Cathedral, in Saint Louis, Missouri, was constructed in the early 20th century in the Central West End of the city, as the archdiocesan replacement for the Church of St. Louis IX, King of France (colloquially the Old Cathedral) on the historic St. Louis riverfront since 1770.
The Cathedral of St. Louis was designated a basilica by Pope John Paul II on April 4, 1997, and on October 19, 1997, the 150th anniversary of the elevation of the Diocese of St. Louis to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Saint Louis, the Cathedral was elevated to a minor basilica, receiving the name it now bears.
In 1912, installation of mosaics in the interior began. Completed in 1988, it contains 41.5 million glass tesserae pieces applying over 7,000 colors. Covering 83,000 square feet (8,000 m²), it is the largest mosaic collection in the world, and was created by 20 different artists including Hildreth Meiere.
The church basement contains a museum dedicated to the mosaics in the church as well as some of the other artifacts found within the Cathedral. Also in the church basement is a mortuary chapel with a number of crypts for former leaders of the Archdiocese. Currently, Cardinals John J. Glennon, Joseph Ritter, and John J. Carberry, as well as Archbishop John L. May are buried in the Cathedral's crypt.
According to a June 2007 announcement by Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke in the online edition of the Archdiocesan newspaper, the Catholic Herald at the Archdiocesan website [1], a blessed icon of the Sacred Heart of Jesus will be dedicated and enthroned at the Cathedral Basilica.
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[edit] The Angel of Harmony
The Angel of Harmony is a 14 feet high, welded stainless steel sculpture by St. Louis artist Wiktor Szostalo, installed on the lawn of the Cathedral Basilica in 1999, in the space between the rectory and the church. It features a winged angel with African-American features, standing behind three children with Hispanic, Asian and European features, playing a hymn of peace on diverse instruments. The wings are made of wind chimes, which produce sounds as the wind blows through them. It is intended to emphasize the theme of harmony, peace and racial justice, according to Auxiliary Bishop Edward Braxton, who suggested the project to Archbishop Justin Rigali.[1]
The sculpture is a gift from Adelaide Schlafly in memory of her late husband, Daniel, an active Catholic layman who was dedicated to the cause of racial justice and peace. The pedestal base of black African granite is inscribed with quotations from the New Testament, Pope John Paul II and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
[edit] The organ
The Cathedral has a large organ that was originally built by the Kilgen Organ Company in 1915. Originally, the organ had two four manual (keyboard) organ consoles, one in the gallery with the organ, and another console behind the sanctuary.
In 1946, Kilgen put a new organ into the Cathedral. The 1946 organ had 77 ranks of pipes, 14 of which came from the older organ. In 1948, an Echo Organ from Carnegie Hall, New York City was installed in the Cathedral. In 1984, the M. P. Moller organ company refurbished the organ.
In 1997 the Wicks Organ Company of nearby Highland, Illinois began a restoration project. They added more ranks of pipes, which brought the organ to 96 ranks of pipes. The company also added some digital stops to the organ. A new four manual organ console replaced the old Kilgen console behind the sanctuary, and the second gallery console was refurbished. Wicks also updated the organ's electronics.
In the winter of 2002 the gallery organ was expanded, and a new dome division of pipes was added to the organ. The project has one final step, which is to replace the old galley console with another four manual console to replace a smaller two manual console in the gallery. This would allow complete control of the organ from either the gallery console or the sanctuary console. This final step is awaiting funding.
The original Kilgen console was moved into the basement museum, and can be viewed by visitors.
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