Cathedral St. Louis Basilica
“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.”
It’s funny, I grew up in St. Louis and now that I have been away long enough to forget street names or only know how to reach a destination thanks to my GPS, I now have a newfound appreciation every time I visit. Thankfully, my brother also has a passion for photography and will often let me twist his arm to go on photography adventures. I love that we have this bond!
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, also known as the St. Louis Cathedral, is located in the Central West End area of St. Louis, Missouri. The cathedral is named for Saint Louis and was designated a basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1997.
The church is known for its large mosaic installation, one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere. In 1912, installation of mosaics in the interior began. Completed in 1988, the mosaics collectively contain 41.5 million glass tesserae pieces in more than 7,000 colors. Covering 83,000 square feet (7,700 m2), it is the largest mosaic collection in the world outside Russia. Within these mosaics are stories from the Bible and stories that represent the city of Saint Louis itself.
Once again the Washington National Cathedral has amazed me!
Recently I took a tour to see the Gargoyle and Grotesques. The description of the tour said their would be a lot of stairs, walking, tight spaces and you should not be afraid of heights. All true! Also shared, was all the history and thought that has went into the construction and the purpose of the Cathedral. Did you know….there are many notable people buried at the Cathedral, Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller to name a couple.