 |
 |
|
|
Home
|
On-Line
Church Tour Welcome to the St. Pius V Catholic Church "on-line" tour. Contained here are photographs and descriptive text, both by parishioner Bridgett Wissinger. Bridgett's commentary is offered as casual musings on the beautiful depictions or images found in our church that are in themselves, commentaries on the various facets of our faith. While presented here for your pleasure, please consider both photographs and personal commentary as copyrighted, and the private property of Ms. Wissinger (to be used only by permission: zmaya@mindspring.com). Thanks to Bridgett for her gift of time and talent. Pictures will be added gradually, perhaps one--or several--at a time. Please check back often as we tour St. Pius V Catholic Church. Before we begin, we offer a brief, overall history and description of our church building: St. Pius V Catholic Church was consecrated on May 27, 1923 (The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity), built on land purchased on March 3, 1905. Ground was broken for the new church structure at 3304 S. Grand on July 25, 1916. The church was built according to the Romanesque and "sturdy" Baroque style of the 16th century. It was constructed of sandstone, and by the 1950's, was so weather-worn that it was replaced with Indiana limestone, giving the edifice a slimmer look. The original loggia was removed, and replaced by symbols of the Eucharist - chalice and host. A scene of the Resurrection was replaced by a bas-relief, depicting events from the life of the namesake, Pope St. Pius V. Rotted wooden window frames were replaced by polished aluminum frames. When one enters the nave of the church, most prominent is a large mosaic representation of Christ the King, completed in the fall of 1937. In the center of the mosaic, the figure of Christ, seated on the world, receives homage from all the kings of the world as they offer him their crowns. The flat surfaces of the mosaic holds the symbols of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity (Eye-God, the Father; Lamb-God, the Son; Dove-God, the Holy Spirit). On the ceiling above the mosaic are painted representations of the seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, penance, eucharist, holy orders, marriage, and anointing. Other representations include the pope's triple crown, the mustard seed (depicting the growth of the Church), St. Peter's (in Rome) and St. Pius V Church. In the main vestibule of the church are statues of saints significant to St. Pius V and the Archdiocese of St. Louis: St. John Vianney, the Infant of Prague, St. Pius V, St. Louis IX, St. Frances Cabrini, and St. Vincent de Paul. In the former baptistery are statues of the Sacred Heart and St. Ann, mother of Mary. These two statues were originally placed in the sanctuary. On the north side of the church is a replica of Michelangelo's "Pieta." Within the sanctuary are four other prominent statues: Our Lady of Grace, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Joseph, and St. Anthony of Padua. Stained glass windows, the work of Emil Frei, depict, (as is tradition), the life of Jesus: betrothal of Mary and Joseph; the Annunciation, the Visitation, the birth of Jesus, the visit of the Magi, the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, the flight into Egypt, Jesus growing in wisdom, Jesus teaching in the Temple, Jesus taking leave of this mother at the beginning of his public years, and the Ascension. Smaller windows depict Pope St. Pius V, the Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Large clerestory windows depict various symbols of the Blessed Virgin, derived from the Litany to the Blessed Virgin (the Litany of Loretto). Smaller clerestory windows contain various symbols of the Church and Christianity. We now begin our tour:
"I like Anthony's graceful hands, and the way it
almost seems like he's comforting Jesus while still trying to catch up on
his reading. I don't mean that in a flippant way. I say that as a mom of
two kids who didn't sleep at night for a long time." Below is a
link for an excellent article that includes an explanation of much of the
symbolism in the statue:
"This past month, we celebrated Epiphany at
St. Pius with the annual Migration Mass. We celebrate those who have come
to this corner of the world from every other--from Vietnam, Angola,
Liberia, Mexico, from far flung places to this stone church on the corner
of Grand and Utah. And we do so in part because the Magi came from distant
lands to celebrate the Christ child, but I think there has to be something
to do with this. These people who come to us, who knock on the door
looking for help, for a hiding place, are spiritual descendants of Mary,
Joseph, and Jesus as they fled their home--the only home they'd ever
known--to protect their child from the government. See how tired
they look, how patient. All they want is what every parent wants."
"This is a clerestory window. That's defined as a window high up on the wall of a church designed to let in light. These windows are all around the sides of Pius. Here is a link to an online source for information about Christian symbols, some of it in great wonderful detail like who gets to have what kind of halo." The smaller clerestory windows contain images of the 12 apostles, and other saints. This window was originally thought to represent James the Lesser; since, Bridgett has discovered that it is actually of St. Simon the Zealot: "There is a correction on the first clerestory window, which I first identified as a fuller's club and saw: it is in fact an oar and saw, which represents St. Simon the Zealot, not St. James the Lesser. His window is the windmill further west on the south wall. As you learn more, you tweak decisions to match new knowledge."
"The next window is the center window of the set that includes the previous [saw and awl] window. According to Deacon Walter Christ's write up of the history of St. Pius, this window and all the other tall clerestory windows, is taken from the Litany of Loretto. Found that online easily; I am still uncertain which reference this is. Perhaps I am misreading things (I like things spelled out sometimes, and these little windows are a total mystery for me). Here is the section I think is appropriate (The Litany of Loretto has a litany of names for Mary, most starting repetitively (mother, virgin, queen) but the middle set of titles is different):
Mirror of justice, pray for us
"Once again and always, shedding light on and through this window is welcome."
Jesus Growing In Wisdom
"The title comes from the biblical passage that summed up most of Jesus' childhood: And Jesus advanced in wisdom, age and grace before God and Man (Lk 2:52). But there is more that is going on in this window. Behind Mary and Joseph there are plants. Joseph stands in front of a lily, which represents Joseph's purity of heart and justifies his closeness to the child Jesus. Up above Joseph is a palm, which would be a foreshadowing of the entry into Jerusalem. The palm branch closest to the top appears to be red. Mary is standing next to what appears to be a rose vine in bloom.
"Matthias is the apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot after Judas commits suicide. Not much is known about Matthias; the other apostles cast lots to see if he or Barsabbas will complete their number. Since he could attest to the resurrection, he was in the running, and they left it up to the Holy Spirit to choose between the two. In many apocryphal writings, he is confused with the similarly named Matthew, and in fact, this symbol of a scimitar on a bible, while very commonly associated with Matthias, probably has nothing to do with his supposed martyrdom, which was by stoning or crucifixion, depending on the source. There is a chance this could be a representation of Bartholomew, but that will be determined as we see the other clerestory windows. Bartholomew, who was flayed alive, was martyred with a flaying knife, not a scimitar, and is usually depicted symbolically by a flaying knife on an open bible, not a closed one. But the matter is open for debate."
"St.
Jude Thaddeus, not to be confused with Judas Iscariot, is the patron saint
of desperate situations. There's probably not a single reader who doesn't
already know that. However, this window is not so obvious, and many may
think it is in reference to the Barque of St. Peter. St. Peter has another
representation on the north wall of the church, in a clerestory window
that shares space with St. Andrew's cross. Since there are ten smaller
clerestory windows on the south side, and all the others are apostles, it
seems clear that these are all representations of saints, not of the
Church. Since Peter is commonly known by the crossed keys, which is what
the north side window portrays, it is a logical conclusion that this is
St. Jude's window."
Larger Clerestory Window: The Pomegranate
"This is a pomegranate. The Jews saw this as a symbol of righteousness since it supposedly had 613 seeds within, which corresponds with the 613 commandments of the Torah (and we thought there were only 10). Later, Christians adopted this symbol alternately for the Church and for Mary. I believe this is meant to be a symbol of Mary at St. Pius, of her fruitfulness and the closeness of her will to the Lord's. As a symbol of the Church, it may seem more obvious: we are many parts, but one body, just as the pomegranate has many seeds but is one fruit."
All
around the hem at the bottom you shall make pomegranates, woven of violet,
purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen twined, with gold bells between
them; first a gold bell, then a pomegranate, and thus alternating all
around the hem of the robe. Aaron shall wear it while ministering, that
its tinkling may be heard as he enters and leaves the Lord's presence in
the sanctuary; else he will die. (Ex 28:33-35)
Go to: page 2
|
|
