page_title: Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (Altoona, Pennsylvania)
section_title: Interior
hierarchical_section_title: Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (Altoona, Pennsylvania) / Architecture / Interior
caption_attribution_description: English: The interior of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Altoona, Pennsylvania.
context_page_description: The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is a Roman Catholic cathedral located at One Cathedral Square in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It is within the boundaries of the Downtown Altoona Historic District, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown and is the seat of its bishop, the Most Reverend Mark Leonard Bartchak. The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament Pastoral staff is Rev. Monsignor Stanley B. Carson, administrator, and Rev. Father Dennis M. Kurdziel, parochial vicar.
context_section_description: While the exterior follows a more historical vocabulary, the interior is more modern. It was designed by Alfred Reid of Pittsburgh. The baptismal font is placed at the entrance of the cathedral, serving to bring parishioners into the Church metaphorically. The nave is divided into three sections by six large piers. Along the base of the vault of the nave are images of six holy men and women, each of whom has a special connection to the Blessed Sacrament: Saint Tarsicius, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Paschal Baylon, Blessed Juliana of Mount Cornillon, Saint Clare of Assisi, and Blessed Imelda Lambertini.
  The dome is located over the crossing. From the floor to the eye of the dome is 152 feet (46 m). At its base is written Hoc est enim Corpus Meum. Hic est enim Calix Sanguinis Mei. Mysterium Fidei. (This is My Body. This is the Cup of My Blood. The Mystery of Faith.) Along the base of the dome and the sanctuary are also several symbols of the Eucharist: wheat, grapes, wine, loaves of bread, a fish, a monstrance, a chalice and host, and a pelican. Below the dome on the pendentives are medallions of the four Evangelists.
  The altar is the central element in the cathedral. It is around the altar that the faithful gather to celebrate Eucharist. It is 12 feet (3.7 m) long, a number which is significant in its association with the number of the Apostles and the tribes of Israel.  Above the altar hangs a golden tester.
  The word cathedral is derived from a Latin word, cathedra, meaning "chair". In early Christian literature, it always conveyed the idea of authority. The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, then, is not important simply because it is the largest and the most beautiful church in the diocese, but because of its character as the "cathedra" or "seat" of the bishop.
  There are seven sanctuary stained glass windows that consist of The Annunciation, The Nativity, The Last Supper, The Crucifixion, The Resurrection, The Ascension, and The Crowning of Mary. The windows in the cathedral created since 1986 were produced by Hunt Studios in Pittsburgh.
  Directly below the altar in the basement, a chapel mausoleum named "the crypt chapel" was erected for the entombment of bishops for the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. Currently, six bishops and two rectors of the cathedral are entombed in the crypt chapel, with coat of arms erected on the crypt door: Eugene A. Garvey, John J. McCort, Richard T. Guilfoyle, Howard J. Carroll, J. Carroll McCormick and James J. Hogan. Recent rectors Thomas E. Madden and Paul Panza are also entombed in the chapel.
caption: The cathedral interior
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