On April 3, 1914, El Paso was made a diocese. Shortly thereafter, construction of the cathedral began on July 31, 2014.
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| Stained glass of St. Patrick on the front facade. |
The symbol below, which was under a rounded arch, was the papal symbol of Pope Pius X, who was the pope who elevated El Paso to a diocese. The crossed keys symbolize the keys of Peter, one gold and one silver, to represent the loosing and binding. The triregnum, or triple crown, represents the triple power of the Pope as father of kings, governor of the world and Vicar of Christ. In the blue shield, the anchored cross represents hope, or a fresh start.
The Baldachino (or main altar) is a canopy supported by columns, each made of a different kind of marble: Numidian red, brown Sienna, Champville yellow, blanco p., black, gold and Sylvan green.
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| The main altar from near the entrance. |
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| A closer look at the Baldachino. |
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| Looking toward the front of the cathedral and the organ above. |
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| Closer view of the organ. |
Stained glass windows, using mouth-blown antique glass from Germany, showing scenes of Christ from birth to resurrection, replaced older stained glass windows in 1929.
The steeple was hit by lightning in 1988 and severely damaged. It was replaced at that time.
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| A sample of one of the Stations of the Cross. |
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| Ceiling above the main altar. |
San Pedro de Jesus Maldonado was canonized as a saint by Pope John Paul II in 2002. He was ordained in St. Patrick's in 1918 and martyred in Santa Isabel, Chihuaha, Mexico in 1937 at age 42. He is interred in Chihuaha but recognized in St. Patricks.
We visited in December 2018.
A beautiful church. I'm always grateful to the Catholics who create these spectacular sites of worship.
ReplyDeleteHi - I work for a UK university, and would love to find out whether you have a high resolution version of the photograph of the stained glass facade of St Patrick (2nd image from top of this page), and whether you would be willing for it to be used in an academic book. Is there some way we could discuss, perhaps via email? Best wishes, Joanna (Durham, UK)
ReplyDeleteIt's ashame that they removed the 1917 Geo. Kilgen & Son pipe organ after the fire. At least they kept the original facade. But once rebuilt, the Kilgen would have looooooonnnggg outlasted any electronic counterfeit replacement, and is infinitely renewable.
ReplyDelete