Monday, March 12, 2012

Cathedral of St. Helena


After my workshops were over on the first day of my convention, the boys wanted to show me the cathedral they had driven by earlier. I've seen it from the outside before, but we decided to go in and check it out. It's a beautiful church. The construction began in 1908 and was completed in 1914. There are 59 stained-glass windows. They're absolutely incredible.

We only stayed a few moments. Catholic churches make me nervous in a funny way. This goes back to the mid 1970s when my mom worked at a Catholic convalescent hospital. A lot of her friends were brothers and nuns, so she got on this Catholic-kick and had me and my sister converted. If you've ever been through that, you know it's not an easy process. It's pretty complicated. I even went to Catholic school for a year and a half. Sadly, my mom got out of her Catholic-kick almost as fast as she had gotten into it.

I truly appreciate the beauty of these old cathedrals, even though they make me nervous. I always feel like I'm going to do something wrong or have someone yell at me. I joked with Rick about how I felt and even asked him if my eye was twitching. Some of those experiences I had with the nuns in Catholic school were not that great. Even so, this is a beautiful cathedral in Helena, Montana. If you'd like to learn more, you can visit the website @ Cathedral of St. Helena. It has a fascinating history, including being damaged in earthquakes and during a nearby explosion. There's even a link just to view the stained-glass windows.



4 comments:

  1. Oh gosh, what a truly stunning catherdral, Rena. Wow! It's been awhile since I've seen one that beautiful. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. That IS a pretty church. Next time you're in one, try not to think about the Catholic aspect of it, but of it's physical beauty and as tribute to a higher power. I love going into old churches and buildings. The energy of the people who have gone before me is almost always felt.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those Catholics really know how to build marvelous spaces.

    ReplyDelete