Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church

Ruga, Latvia

Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church
Riga, Latvia

"Our Lady of Sorrows Church (Latvian: Sāpju Dievmātes Romas katoļu baznīca) is a Roman Catholic church in Riga, the capital of Latvia. The church is situated at the address 5 Pils Street.^[1] It was built in 1785." (Link 1.)

Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church

"The white and blue Our Lady of Sorrows Church was the first stone church built in Riga after the Reformation had reached Livonia (a historic region once encompassing present-day Latvia and Estonia). The idea of constructing the church was especially supported by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. The Classicism-style building was dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows symbolising the oppressed Catholic Religion in Terra Mariana.

Church Plaque

"Our Lady of Sorrows Church was preceded by a modest and small chapel build under Father Isidor Schmidt and noticed by Emperor Joseph II, who paid a visit to Riga in 1780. Emperor promised to talk to Catherine II in order to get her consent to building a new Catholic church. The construction began after four years and was finished in 1785."According to an order by the Empress of Russia, the church was designed in the Classicism style like the all surrounding buildings on Pils Square. It was dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows as a symbol to the oppressed Catholic Religion in Terra Mariana. The name also applies to the bellfry which was erected rather low and unpretentious.

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Location of  Latvia  (dark green)

"Latvia  ..., officially the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republika), is a sovereign state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe.^[13] Since its independence, Latvia has been referred to as one of the Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia in the northern region, Lithuania in the southern, to the east is Russia, and Belarus to the southeast, as well as sharing a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants^[14] and a territory of 64,589 km²(24,938 sq mi).^[15] The country has a temperate seasonal climate."(Link 3.)

Riga Location of Riga in Latvia

"Riga  is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 641,481 inhabitants (2016),^[4] it is also the largest city in the three Baltic states, home to one third of Latvia's population and one tenth of the three Baltic states' combined population.^[9] The city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of the Daugava. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km²(118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3 ft 3 in–32 ft 10 in) above sea level,^[10] on a flat and sandy plain." (Link 4.)

Photos: Taken  with an iPhone by Richard Wilson in August 2018 while attending 

               the 2018 Cycle Messenger  World Championships.

Link 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Sorrows_Church,_Riga

Link 2: https://www.liveriga.com/en/2968-our-lady-of-sorrows-church

Link 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia

Link 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riga

CELEBRATING MY 80TH BIRTHDAY

SUZANNE MARIE (FRANK, MOORE) WILSON

BORN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN

SEPTEMBER 16, 1938

Temple St.-Etienne
on
Place de Reunion

Temple St.-Etienne
Mulhouse, France

"With a population of 112,063 in 2013 and 284,739 inhabitants in the metropolitan area^[2]in 2012, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhindépartement...Mulhouse;... is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders.

"Mulhouse is famous for its museums, especially the Cité de l’Automobile  and the Musée Français du Chemin de Ferrespectively the largest automobile and railway museums in the world. 

"...the first written records of the town date from the twelfth century....it became a part of France in the Treaty of Mulhousesigned on 28 January 1798,,,,

"The town's development was stimulated first by the expansion of the textile industry and tanning, and subsequently by chemical and engineering industries from the mid 18th century. Mulhouse was for a long time called the French Manchester. Consequently, the town has enduring links with Louisiana, from which it imported cotton,..." (Link 1.)

Temple St.-Etienne

"The origin of the Saint-Etienne temple is very old. A new style building novel is dedicated in 1186 . In 1351 , the choir , rebuilt in the Gothic style , is in turn consecrated.

"The collaterals are rebuilt in 1504 . The tower is elevated in 1510 .

In 1523 , persecuted in the region by the Protestants, Catholics were then driven from the Saint-Etienne church to give place to the Reformed cult. The tower has a baroque bulb in 1707 . The temple is destroyed in 1858.

"In the middle of the xix ^th  century, the city council decided to build a new building. The neo-Gothic plans are made by architect Jean-Baptiste Schacre . The first stone is laid in 1859 . The official inauguration of the building took place in 1866 .

Temple St.-Etienne Spire

"The spire of the bedside tower is 97 meters high. It is not only the highest bell tower of the Haut-Rhin but also the highest Protestant bell tower in France.

"The temple has been classified as a historical monument since 27 July 1995 1 .

"The temple is undergoing major exterior and interior restoration works, begun in February 2009 and planned to last until 2019. This work, which must eventually cover the entire building, began with the complete scaffolding of the bell tower.

"Among the works of art recovered from the old church, particular include the exceptional set of stained glass windows of the xiv ^th  century.

• 

  David kills Goliath (stained glass)
 
• 

  David kills 800 enemies
 
• 

  Babel Tower

"When drawing the plans for the church, the architect Schacre was required to reserve them a prime location.

"The building has also kept stalls from 1637.

"The rest of the furniture dates from the construction. The organ of the Walcker Manufactory in Ludwigsburg dating back to 1866, which includes since its enlargement in 1953 a total of 70 games, is worth noting . The small choir organ of the Guerrier manufacture of Willer dates from 1978 . The owner of these instruments is Olivier Wyrwas.

"The high tower is also home to the largest bells of Protestant bells in France, cast in 1867 in Zurich ."(Link 2.)

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Photos: Taken in June 2018 with an Iphone by Richard Wilson while living and 
               working in Basel Switzerland.
Link 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulhouse
Link 2: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Saint-%C3%89tienne_de_Mulhouse

                                                                            Prayer

God, be with persecuted Christians throughout the world. Amen (SW.)

Church Saint Bernard-de-Menthon

Church Saint Bernard-de-Menthon

Ferrette, France

Ferrette

Ferrette

         (Link 1:)  Ferrette, France

"The church is Ferrette one of the oldest churches in Alsace. Indeed, the base of the great tower which still forms the main body of the choir of this church may have been one of many square towers built by Rome in the fourth century... 

                                                   Church Bernard-de-Menthon

"...in 1053 and founded their priory near the old tower. Soon the weep holes and loopholes of the tower disappeared and Catholic worship was officially established there.

"Towards the end of the twelfth century, ...  A hole was drilled in the big tower before which a nave was built. In the thirteenth century a Gothic choir was opened on the opposite side of the tower. It is of Gothic style primitive or lancets as evidenced arc tip used in windows that are tall, narrow and twinned. The columns are also slender, alone or grouped and foothills outside are essential to the strength of the work: so for 700 years nothing has moved.

Sanctuary

" By the end of the fourteenth century, the church appears again too small and heavy and massive nave is built as worship but also, if necessary, to defense.

Side Altar

"In 1728, the only entrance to the church which was at the right aid to the upper town is walled and a new entry in the axis of the nave replaces it with a double door protected by a simple porch. In 1792, the ferrettiens transported two of the three bells foundry Belfort to make cannons. After the revolution, the church and the priory were declared national property and the church was closed until 1804 when it was returned to worship.

Front Altar

"From June 1906 to August 1910, several

 projects were proposed and a final draft was agreed in July 1911 for an amount of 114,000 marks. The old nave is then completely demolished and there remains only the tower and the choir classified MH since 1902.

                                               Balcony and Rear of Sanctuary

"The new neo-Gothic nave is higher and longer than the former and the architect managed to harmoniously integrate with the tower and the choir. A large arch separates the warhead of the great tower. It consists of five bays whose cornerstone has an armorial shield recalling the historical past of Ferrette.

"To regulate the proportions of the new nave with the old tower was raised it 6 m and by that also the belfry, but still maintain the roof gable. " (Link 2.)

"Saint Bernard of Menthon, C.R.S.A., (or Bernard of Montjoux) was the founder of the famed hospiceand monastery which has served travelers for nearly a millennium as a refuge in the most dangerous part of the Swiss Alps.^[The famous breed of St. Bernard dogswere named after the hospice as they were bred to help on rescue missions during winter storms." (Link 3.)

************

Photos: Taken in June 2018 with an Iphone by Richard Wilson while living and working in Basel Switzerland.

Link 1: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrette
Link 2: https://www.france-voyage.com/cities-towns/ferrette-26981/church-saint-bernard-menthon-16580.htm
Link 3:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Menthon

                                                                  Prayer

God, be with persecuted Christians throughout the world. Amen (SW.)

St. Paul Katholische Kirche

Junction Obergrundstrasse (highway to Kriens) / Moosmattstrasse (Link 1.)

Kirche St. Paul Katholische Kirche
Lucerne, Switzerland

Church Sign

"Dating back to 1912, Lucerne's St. Paul's Church was designed by Swiss architect Karl Coelestin Moser. It’s an amazing church with a splendid interior, charming frescoes and majestic glass paintings." (Link 2.)

Above Entrance

"St. Paul's Church was the first modern church in Lucerne after Jesuit Church (1677). While the inhabitants of the first 19th century boomtown district Neustadt had a relatively short distance to the medieval left shore Franciscan Church, inhabitants of the younger Hirschmatt district demanded for their own parish church. So St. Paul's Church replaced an older chapel on the road to Kriens." (Link 1.)

Sanctuary

"SrPaul's Church is a unique blend of Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau Styles." (Link 1.)

Altar

Chapel

Photos: Taken in June 2018 with an Iphone by Richard Wilson while living and working in Basel Switzerland.
Link 1: http://lucerne.all-about-switzerland.info/lucerne-stpauluschurch.html
Link 2: https://www.gpsmycity.com/attractions/st-pauls-church-20218.html

                                                                    Prayer

God, be with persecuted Christians throughout the world. Amen (SW.)

U.S. Memorial Day 2018

The Wall

This is a story of my family.  My grandmother, Marie,  was born on a farm in Petasky, Michigan.  She had 5 brothers and 4 sisters.  She moved to Wisconsin as a bride and died in 1952 at age 67 in Kaukauna, Wisconsin.  My mother kept in touch with several of her brothers and sisters.  One of these was her Uncle Charlie who had moved to Rapid City South Dakota. In 1956 when I graduated from high school and my brother graduated from grade school my mother took us by train and then bus to visit the Black Hills, Yellowstone Park, and her Uncle Charlie.

I had heard about her Uncle Charlie over the years.  He and his 1st wife Kate had never had children.  Then in his 60's they were divorced and he married his second wife, the young Kate.  Kate had been a nurse in the Korean War.  Her 1st husband had been a pilot who was killed in that war.  She had a son, Alan, from that marriage. Kate and Uncle Charlie also had a son, of course, named Charlie. Charlie had red hair and freckles, was rambunctious and looked like "What me worry?"  This great gift to Uncle Charlie so late in his life became his life.  Alan was 9 and Charlie was about 5 when my mother, brother, and I visited this family.

Many years after this visit I heard that Charlie, the great gift to my mother's Uncle Charlie, was killed in Vietnam.  My prayers went out to Uncle Charlie in his grief and Kate who had suffered such a loss in the Korean War.

When the Vietnam War Memorial was installed in Washington D. C. an accompanying "Moving Wall"  went on tour.  The replica was true to the original, a long rambling wall of black with the names of those that sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War.  A soldier stood on guard with eyes on The Wall. This "Moving Wall" came to Vancouver in 1988 and was mounted in Sunset Beach Park.  It was here that I visited the "Moving Wall".  I approached the soldier on guard who took me to the spot where "Charlie Reberg" was carved into the black surface.  I touched his name and thought of the little five year old with red hair and freckles and his parents who adored him.  And I prayed for them and all the other parents who had such a loss.

In 1998 the US Government offered rubbings of the names of those on the wall on request.  I gratefully received a copy of "Charlie Reberg" as it appears on "The Wall".  It can be seen in the photo below.

Each Memorial Day, I remember.  I remember the sparkle in Uncle Charlie's eyes as he watched his five year old Charlie play in the front yard of their Rapid City home.  I remember that quietness of 9 year old Alan that seemed to reflect the death of his father in the Korean War. I think of the grief of young Kate and her double sacrifice.  And I pray for all the other families that have made this sacrifice.  Let us remember.

Photo: Taken of Suzanne Wilson's copy of "Charlie Reberg's" name on the Vietnam Memorial, "The Wall."
Link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial

Prayer

God, be with the persecuted Christians through out the world. Amen (SW.)