The times., 1899-12-26
HOLY LAND IN MINIATURE
The Monastery Of the Franciscan
Monks at BrOokIand, Md.
Large Numbers OF Visitors During
the NuIetide Holiday Season-AII
IY Initiated - Description OF the
BuiIdings-The scope of the work.


The Christmas season has drawn uumer-
Gus bands OF pilgrims to Mount St. sepul-
chre, the Franciscan monastery, which is
the Commissariat of the Holy Land. sit
ualed in Brookand, to view with reverence
its strange. emblemauc chapels, cells and
corridors The structure is without an
architectural comparison in the United
States, being of that style which inspired
by the aEcient monuments. has beloue in
Italy the accepted type of relig Gus
houses 1t contains facsimilles OF all the
relics in Jerusalem.
The scope of the building is two-fod,
The college is a monastery and mission
airy institution, which has for It's obje-t the
harboring an educating within is wa Is
those who feel themselves prompted 10
serve the Holy Land in the Ordet Of St.
Francis, For this reason the college is
built on the old monastlc plan. 1t is a
large, rectangular building, with court
yard in the centre, which is laid out as q
garden. walks, and dowei bees, as in he
old Inonasteries. There is cisbern of
large dimensions, in which rain water is
collected from the roofs and stored up
against summer droughts.
The inner courtyard is surrounded on the
first floor by The traditional cloister, a
broad open gallery, which serves the friaIs
for their walks on rainy days, when 1t is
impossible to take the required exercise n
open air This cloister can be closed IN
winter by glass partitions, should necessi y
require il.
The cloister has a counterpart in the
basement OF the building, with the dihe@-
ence only that it is enclosed and lighted
with windows In the basement are wo II
shops storerooms for the agricultural
products of the grounds the kitchen, pan
try, and cellar On the first floor, OIL the
cloister. are the offices of the Commissariat
of the Holy Land to the south, the college
rooms and study halls TO the north, and
the refectories with recreation rooms to the
east.
The restrictions of the Seraphis Rule and
The lack Of funds made tie friars desist
from executing the monastery in tnat ar
tistic style Of the old abbeys where beau
tiful carved columns and intricate screen
work added to the pleasing aspect
The style of the Structure.
. The style OF the monastery which obtains
its highest effect from the great simplicity
of its proportions and the majestic sweep
of its outlines, is especially conspicuous in
the inner court. which forms the character
istic part Of the whole building. All the
ancient monastic structures, beginning
with the Benedictine monasteries, were
built in this style. On the western side the
monastery is connected with the church.
The latter is separated from the cloister by
a large corridor, to which seculars are ad-
mitted and which serves as a passage be-
tween the commissariat and the college
and the various appurtenances oil the
church and monastery.
The architecture of the church is based
on the outlines Of the Byzantine style,
with a slight transition to the Italian re-
naissance in its details, so that the artistic
effect of the great Hagia Sofia and the
beautiful Cartosa of Pavia have been
adapted to Franciscan simplicity. The
church is built in the form of Greek
cross. in the four corners Of which are in
serted the same number Of chapels form
ing the Franciscan arms OF the Mission OF
the Holy Land, which consists or large
cross with four small crosses. The same
emblem is reproduced in the pavement OF
the church in Venetian mosaic. so that the
whole structure. resting on that emblem, is
a forcible reminder of the scope and plan
OF the institution itself.
The central aisle OF the Greek cross has
at the entrance of the church poruco
supporting a gallery. Al the other end is
the sanctuary, the point of attraction for
which the whole structure has been ar
ranged: The two eXtremities Of the tran
septs OF the church are closed OF by TWO
elegant apses TO which light enters
through a series of small arches. The gem
eral decoration is principally formed by
the slight entrances into the chapels in
which the decoration OF the main cross IS
repeated. This triple arch serves also as
a base for the upper arches. which increase
the light OF the TWO first chapels and form
windows in the two choirs above the rear
chapels These arches again support the
upper windows so that the whole arrange
ment Of rows Of columns and arches OF va
rious sizes form an elegant ornamentation
Of the church.
The ceiling is partly yaulted and partly
fat. and is ornanented with panels and
rosettes of various designs. II has been
already mentioned that the statuary forms
the main point of attraction of the church
In the sanctuary is found the holy sepul-
chre precisely as it exists in Jerusalem, with
all its decorations. Two marble staiTways
en- both sides OF it lead TO Mount Calvary
! which forms the high altar Of the church.
On a level with Calvary, and on both
sides Of il, are the entrances TO the two
choiTs.
In the apses of the transepts are en-
frances TO the underground chapels, the
one 10 the right being a reproduction OF
the grotto at Nazareth, and the one