Articles

Affichage des articles du février, 2023

50. Montreal, Basilica of Notre Dame. Coolest Gothic revival pulpit

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  Montreal, Basilica of Notre Dame. Coolest Gothic revival pulpit   The wikipedia article says that the interior of the church is « one of the most dramatic in the world », and dead Gothic. Gets eleven million visitors a year, and last year I was one of them. My favourite ever pulpit. If you’re gonna preach   Good News About Eternal Life, you might as well do it perched on some decent furniture.   The stained glass windows here don’t bother with Bible stories, but depict scenes from the history of Montreal.   The other major highlight is the extra chapel behind the altar  through a corridor, which is has a modern bronze altar piece which is totally stunning. It represents humanity’s journey towards God, passing through childhood, adulthood and old age. In this chapel, the Stations of the Cross are well worth a look.   Information in French Information in English Information in Armenian  

49, Paris, Our Lady of Fatima. Portuguese church in Paris

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  This is a church you see from the outside as you ride past on the tram, and I have been wanting to visit it ever since the first time I saw it, which must have been when that new tramway opened just over ten years ago. It is a 1950s church and the brickwork is very pretty. When I finally decided to go visit it, it was night time, so you don’t get the full effect. Inside, the stations of the cross in metal relief were interesting, there was a crib, too. Everything seems to happen in Portuguese, and when I visited on a Saturday evening, I could hear rosaries being declaimed in portuguese. It seems it is the church of the Portuguese community of the Paris area.   Full story of that Fatima gal here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_F%C3%A1tima And in Portuguese here: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nossa_Senhora_de_F%C3%A1tima And in Kiswahili here  https://sw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikira_Maria_wa_Fatima