Showing posts with label Cathedrals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cathedrals. Show all posts

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Episcopatum ejus accipiat alter

What a surprise was St Patrick's Cathedral, Toowoomba — an elegant Gothic edifice, which even retains its altar rails! and statues! not to mention a handsome pulpit!  Evidently the table of the high altar has been moved forward, but the old reredos remains, with the tabernacle still in the centre!  Evidently not much architectural harm was done during the tenure of the recently-dismissed Ordinary.

It was also good to see a church largely devoid of useless clutter: no parish bulletins, no piles of pamphlets, and only a few items on display beside the side entrance to the north transept.  If I didn't know otherwise I would have given the administrators high praise for neatness and lack of foolish modernizing zeal.

The only evidence of strange goings-on was a large copy of a "covenant" between the "Roman Catholic" diocese of Toowoomba, the "R.C." archdiocese of Brisbane, and the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane, prominently displayed in front of the Sacred Heart altar.  I forget what this document involves, something ecumenical I suppose.

Coming in to the cathedral, I looked with gratitude on the portrait of our Pope; there was none to be seen of Morris.  As I read in None a little later in the day, episcopatum ejus accipiat alter, "Let another have his bishopric".

Monday, June 7, 2010

In Lismore for Corpus Christi


His Lordship (wearing a cope by reason of the Eucharistic Devotions after Mass).

It was a great joy to spend the weekend in Lismore, and while there to visit my former parish priest, now the Lord Bishop of that city.  Bp Jarrett was kind enough to let me serve his Mass on Saturday and Monday – on Sunday, of course, I went to St Carthage's Cathedral where he pontificated at Mass followed by Exposition, Procession, and Benediction.  

Obviously I couldn't take photographs during all that, but snapped this one hurriedly once the Sanctissimum was returned to the tabernacle and the altar party was turning to leave:


Some further images, taken once all the morning's rites and ceremonies were over (including the blessing of a new stone cross for the cathedral roof):


Throne and altar


The Lady Chapel


St Patrick's advice! 
"Be ye such Christians as to be also Romans"

The Wallace Window (left and right lights, featuring male and female Dominican saints) – I know this family; one brother is a Dominican priest, the other is a deacon and the chancellor of Lismore Diocese.  This window is a memorial to their late mother, Veronica: may she rest in peace.




St Carthage's Cathedral

(Note the scaffolding: restoration works began in 2009 and will conclude in 2012.)

Grafton Anglican Cathedral

Amongst other methods of wasting time, I decided to visit cathedrals while driving through Victoria and New South Wales: if a city has a Catholic one, I'll go there of course, but if – as in Wangaratta or Grafton there is only an Anglican one, I'll go see what those folks have.  


Crossing the mighty Clarence River, I drove into Grafton on Friday afternoon, and took these snaps in "Christ Church Cathedral", which appears to be reasonably high, but not so much as at Wangaratta.  To my signal displeasure, I noted that the local Anglican newspaper was crowing about their bishop ordaining the first Aboriginal woman to be a deacon.


On the columns flanking the nave are modernistic paintings of the Stations of the Cross, something I've not previously seen in Anglican churches.


The chancel: note the reversion to a Cranmer table, after the initial building of an altar in imitation of Catholic practice.


This notice (apologies for the bad reproduction, but it was very dark inside) I found concealed on a small bookcase for hymnals as one passes from the choir into the side chapel, where there was an aumbry flanked by a light, presumably for reservation.  This notice appears to teach the doctrine of the real presence, of adoration of Christ in the reserved sacrament, and of prayer for the dead.  Next to it were cards giving the texts for the Angelus and Regina cæli.


This attractive image of Christ the Priest (note maniple) reigning from the Cross was above the pulpit.


I found Our Lady making an appearance... and also St Cecilia, in naive style, playing on the organ: