The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-04-17
BEAUTIFUL CHAPEL DEDICATED
TO THE PRINCE OF THE APOS.
TIES IN THE ST. PAUL CATHE-
DRAL-LAVISH DISPLAY OF CAR
RARA MARBLES - EXQUISITE
DESIGNS AND VIVID MOSAICS-
A MEMORIAL TO A GENEROUS
BENEFACTOR.


| found IN the great cathedrals OF Eu-
| rope, is the first impression made as
| one enters the shrine dedicated to St.
Peter in the new Cathedral of st. Paul,
Ihe richness of the marbles, the sDlen-
dor OF design. the perfect blending of
Vari-cOlored tints, the gorgeous sim
| pllclty of the tout ensemble all seems
to inspire the beholder with that sense
or aesthetic grandeur which is sun
posed to be the effect produced only
by the work Of the greatest medieval
masters. A breath of old world fra
GRANGE has been transported to the
| new Cathedral, and deftly and cop-
| ously has it been diffused in the shrine
dedicated to the Prince of the Apos-
ties
When the design for the new Cathe-
dral came forth perfect in every detail
from the brilliant mind of the late
lamented architect Mr.. e. L. Mas
queray, it was decided that the
Shrines, that like so many guards of
honor, did reverence to the hidden
| Lord enthroned within the sanctuary,
| should be in perfect keeping with the
splendOr and nobility of the general
| plan. The place of honor at the right
OF the sanctuary was accorded to him
who was chosen to represent Christ
upon earth. The station and dignity
| of st. Peter called for a rich display of
sculptured marble and of masterful
design. Those in charge of the work
determined that the finest product of
the Italian quarries would be none too
rich for this apostolic shrine. The
| cost of such a work would be consid-
| cradle, in fact, it would total more
| than $4,000. This apparent difficulty,
however, was easily solved through
the generous munificence of Mrs
| Mary McCahill of Lake City, Mimi,
| who furnished the shrine complete.
Rich italian Marbles.
| The marbles Of Italy are the stand
| ard and the admired of the world. God
| has been good to Italy. The richness
| OF her skies, her campagna and noun
tains, and the prisms of the very air
| oSSiii " I1ri' z liHulllCu anu " nave
| been absorbed into Mother Earth,
| there to be solidified into most beau
tiful parti-colored marbles. Man be-
gan to uncover these wondrous treas
| ures of sOlidity and tint long before
our Blessed Lord walked upon this
earth in human form; and yet the
| Creators gifts to Italy were so boun-
tiful that a wealth of these marbles
still remains in the Kaleidoscope store
houses of the Apennines.
OF these various tinted rocks, Sienna
| seems to have accumulated treasury,
full of rich gold and silver tints. It
was to this treasure house that the
Most Reverend Archbishop Ireland
turned his attention, so that the great
| Cathedral Of st. Paul might have
within it's walls the most beautiful
examples of these wonderful marbles.
The greatness of the Cathedral prof
| ect, the munifcence of the donor, the
| fairy-like skill of the architect, have
made it possible for the Mcbride Art
Studios to exert their ability, and
with chisel and mallet faithfully to
interpret the ideas given to them. The
selection of the various tints of mar
BILE was equally important, and re
quired many visits to Sienna A de-
scription of the shrine and it's vari
Gus features of beauty is herewith pre-
sented.
The Shrine.
st. Peters shrine Is twenty-five feet
in length, twenty-five feet in width
and forty-one feet from the floor tC
the ceiling, the height from floor tc
spring of arches being thirty feet. The
columns and pilasters are of dark
Sienna marble, and the intermediate
walls are of light Sienna marble, al
from the famous quarries at Pietra
santa, Carrara, Italy. The cornice
matches the light marble.
At the entrance to the shrine stanC
two huge marble columns. On tht
walls at each side of the entrance art
found eight pilasters reaching from
floor to cornice. Each column rest
upon a massive block of solid marble
while ledge, four feet above the floor
runs around the walls of the shrine
At the top of column and pilaste
graceful spiral volutes and festoone'
leaves and flowers, delicately wrought
set off the simplicity of the Who'll
, with deft touch.
The flooring Of white marble is tie
into the picture of variegated tints b
strips of Gallo Fantastico marEl
!, from Serravezza, Italy, which harmon
5 ize in tint and avoid abruptness. .
Y large circular design, containing eros
4 and halo, graces the middle of tn
t floor. 1t is to be noted that the ma
|, BILE in the cross and the halo contain
v a combination of all the marbles use
e in the Shrine--white, gray, and BROW
The same idea is carried out in til
t floor of the sanctuary. On either sic
d of the altar a slab of brown marbl
h semi-circular in form, rests upon
5, white marble urn. These are til
r credence tables. The sculptured fe
n toons and capitals Of column and p
aster are all the work OF eminel