Sunday, May 31, 2009

Today's Blessing of the Bells


Mom and I went to the Cathedral Basilca today for the Blessing of the new bells.



There are four bells, named for four female saints. St. Katherine Drexel and three others that I can't recall at the moment.



The Cathedral Basilica looks spiffy and clean. I didn't realize how red that stone was.






Detail of the Corbels below the South Tower where the bells will be.
I really need to spend time really photographing the church one day.

The new cross, it's a replica of the original, which includes a piece of the old one.


The school for she established here in Santa Fe was closed in the mid-1990s, but it was for Native Americans.

There were sisters from the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the order she established on hand for the Blessing.


Blessed Kateri stands in the front courtyard of the Cathedral Basilica.
It's hard to believe just how much this church has changed through the years. Mom and I were talking about that today.

2 comments:

Jeff said...

Nice looking basilica. Did you take all those photos?

I'm a big admirer of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. I'm glad she's recognized out there. We visited the shrine dedicated to her in Fonda, New York, back in 2007. I once tied in a post about her along with a story about a convent of women in Mexico praying for her sainthood.

Maria said...

She's really a wonderful future saint. We have such a strong Native American culture here, so I think that's one reason why she's so beloved. I think, if I'm not mistaken, Glenna Goodacre did that stature. I'll have to check but it's gorgeous in person. When I was a kid the courtyard of the church was barren. It used to be a Franciscan parish, but they've been gone for about 10 years. I don't know the whole story why, but it's been a big change.

The Basilica got a nice cleaning over the winter and spring, both inside and out. The chapel dates back to the 17th century but the church itself was finished in the late 1880s.

And yes, I did take the pictures. I wished I'd been able to get pictures of the actual blessing. I wish the newspaper websites would post the ones that were in the paper.

Going to check your post now. ;-)