St. Roch Cemetery #2

1725 St. Roch Avenue

St. Michael's Mausoleum Chapel
St. Roch Cemetery #2
New Orleans, Louisiana 

St. Michael's Mausoleum Chapel

"Located in the St. Roch neighborhood of New Orleans, this cemetery was established as St. Roch’s Campo Santo by Father Peter Leonard Thevis, pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in lower New Orleans. Construction of the cemetery, modeled after the Campo Santo dei Tedeschi in Rome, began in 1874. In 1876, the chapel was completed and dedicated, the cemetery opening on the feast day of St. Roch. The eastern section of the cemetery (St. Roch Cemetery No. 2) was added in 1895 across Music Street." (Link 3.)

Chapel Statue

"One of the best cemeteries (and still free) to visit! St. Roch was the patron saint of dogs and miraculous cures. In cemetery #1 you'll find the National Shrine to St. Roch where those ailed by the inability to walk, or prosthetics, were cured. Their crutches, braces and medical walking boots are abandoned here inside the small locked room inside the shrine. The floor of the room is lined with bricks imprinted with the words "thank you" and people have tossed coins in thanks inside the shrine as well. Cemetery #1 includes beautiful Stations of the Cross as well. 

Chapel Altar

"In cemetery #2, you'll find more modern mausoleums and so many flowers! Clearly the residents of this graveyard have abundant perpetual care. This cemetery also includes some very intricate and breathtaking mosaics of biblical scenes.

"Walled ... cemetery. ... entry gates and above ground crypts. " (Link 2.)

"The public gate to this block square cemetery is on Music Street . The exterior appearance is much more mixed than the older Sain Roch's Campo Santo 1 and the red sheet metal gates for the service entrance behind the main mausoleum seem almost jarringly out of place."  (Link 1.)

Prayer Before a Crucifix

Photos: Taken in April 2017 by Suzanne's daughter, Amy, while visiting 

                 New Orleans.

Link 1: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1365276
Link 2: https://www.yelp.com/biz/st-roch-cemeteries-new-orleans      
Link 3:  http://tclf.org/st-roch-cemetery

                                                                  Prayer

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

St. Paul Lutheran Church

       2624 Burgundy Street

St. Paul Lutheran Church
New Orleans, Louisiana

"... first Protestant German church, St. Paul Lutheran, founded in 1840. The congregations included artisans, shopkeepers, farmers, dairymen, and the settlers of Milneburg." (Link 1.)

Church Plaque

"First German Lutheran Congregation of New Orleans (1840) Originally: German Orthodox Evangelical Congregation of New Orleans and Lafayette Formerly: First German Lutheran Congregation of New Orleans Presently: St. Paul Lutheran Church." (Link 2.) Pastor Sans came to New Orleans in 1840 and put an ad in the German newspaper that an evangelical church service would be held in the fire house on Chartre Street the first Sunday in August. Regular services were held after that.  In 1843 property was bought for a church to be built under the name of German Orthodox Evangelical Congregation of New Orleans and Lafayette.  The church that was built of flat lumber had a 75 foot steeple. (LInk 3.) "The first organ installed in this church, according to the OUSCDB database, was a3 manual, 4 division Hinners organ dating to the early 1900's.  The present organ was installed in 1970." (Link 2.)

National Register Plaque

Photos: Taken in April 2017 by Suzanne's daughter, Amy, while visiting 

                 New Orleans.
Link 1: http://www.saveourcemeteries.org/st-roch-cemeteries-no-1-and-2/
Link 2: http://www.neworleanschurches.com/stpaulluth/stpaulluth.htm
Link 3:
 http://freepages.religions.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~neworleans/st_paul_records/st_paul_publications/1890_translation.pdf

                                                                         Prayer

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

                                                                                                 April 23, 2017

Camp Santo

St Roch Cemetary #1

1725 St. Roch Avenue

Camp Santo
St. Roch Cemetary #1 
New Orleans, Louisiana 

Cemetery Gate

"The cemetery and chapel also have a wonderful genesis myth all their own; as the Greater New Orleans website explains:

"At the height of the yellow fever epidemic of 1867, a German priest named Rev. Peter Leonard Thevis arrived in New Orleans. Faced with the severity of the yellow fever epidemic, he turned to God invoking the intercession of St. Roch, the patron of good health. He promised that if no one in his parish should die from the fever, he would erect a chapel in honor of the Saint. Amazingly, not one member of Holy Trinity died from yellow fever, either in the epidemic of 1867 or 1878.

Cemetery Cross

"In thanks, Rev. Thevis’s conviction was to build not only a chapel as a shrine to St. Roch, but also a mortuary chapel in a last resting place for members of his flock. The cemetery was called the Campo Santo (resting place of the dead). Rev. Thevis traveled to Europe to study the architecture and construction of many beautiful shrines and chapels before building the chapel. The chapel, completed in 1876, was considered a beautiful example of Gothic architecture.

Cemetery

"People came to the shrine in large numbers to ask St. Roch for help in cases of affliction, disease and deformities. At one time, the celebration of All Saints Day attracted thousands of people to the Shrine seeking guidance and help for themselves and others in distress. A small room on the side of the chapel holds a number of offerings left by visitors to the chapel. The tradition was to leave accouterments of the illness or disability (including, in the past, eyeballs, crutches, and false limbs!) in gratitude for recovery.

"Another New Orleans tradition related to St Roch that took place for many years is that on Good Friday young girls made a pilgrimage to St. Roch’s chapel because of a local legend, which promised a husband before the year was out to the maiden who said a prayer and left a small sum at each of nine churches. It was considered doubly lucky if St. Roch’s chapel was the end of the pilgrimage.

"The neighborhood got its current name in 1867 with the dedication of the St. Roch shrine and cemetery. St. Roch Chapel and Cemetery are a very important part of the history of the St. Roch neighborhood. At the height of the yellow fever epidemic of 1867, a German priest named Rev. Peter Leonard Thevis arrived in New Orleans. Faced with the severity of the yellow fever epidemic, he turned to God invoking the intercession of St. Roch, the patron of good health." (Link 1.)

Photos: Taken in April 2017 by Suzanne's daughter, Amy, while visiting 

                 New Orleans.
Link 1:http://morbidanatomy.blogspot.ca/2009/05/st-roch-cemetery-and-chapel-new-orelans.html
Link 2: http://www.nola.com/religion/index.ssf/2014/03/i_left_my_leg_in_st_roch_cemet.html

                                                                         Prayer

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

                                                                                                  April 9, 2017

                                                              San Xavier Mission
                                                                       Arizona

San Xavier Mission
South of Tucson, Arizona

"Mission San Xavier del Bac is a historic Spanish Catholic mission located about 10 miles (16 km) south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, on the Tohono O'odham San Xavier Indian Reservation. It was founded in 1692 by Padre Eusebio Kino^[1] in the center of a centuries-old Indian settlement of the Tohono O’odham (formerly known as Papago), located along the banks of the Santa Cruz River. The mission was named for Francis Xavier, a Christian missionary and co-founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order) in Europe. The mission was built at a site near the historic 1700 church first constructed here. This served the mission until being razed during an Apache raid in 1770.

"Detail of the facade on the front of the church/t The "rope" theme carries throughout the church."PY

"Today's Mission was built between 1783-1797; it is the oldest European structure in Arizona; the labor was provided by the O'odham.^[1] Widely considered to be the finest example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States, it hosts some 200,000 visitors each year.

"Here is a close up of the painted door. — at San Xavier Mission Plaza." PY

"The site is also known in Tohono O'odham language as the “place where the water appears,” as there were once natural springs in the area.^[4] The Santa Cruz River, once critical to the community's survival, now runs only part of the year.

"The wall is painted to create a bit of an optical illusion. Originally this was also painted on the floor. "PY

"The Mission is a pilgrimage site, with thousands visiting each year on foot^[5] and on horseback, in what are called cabalgatas in Spanish.

"Not large, but incredibly beautiful. It has been called the Sistine Chapel of \North America." PY

Nickname(s)	“The White Dove of the Desert”

"San Xavier Mission was established in 1692 by Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, founder of the chain of Spanish missions in the Sonoran Desert.

"The artwork above the Altar." PY

"San Xavier has an elegant white stucco Moorish-inspired exterior, with an ornately decorated entrance. Visitors entering the massive, carved mesquite-wood doors are often struck both by the coolness of the interior and the dazzling colors of the paintings, carvings, frescoes and statues. Its rich ornamentation displays a mixture of New Spain and Native American artistic motifs.

"Ceiling of the dome." PY

"The floor plan of the church resembles the classic Latin cross, with a main aisle separated from the sanctuary by the transept, which has chapels at either end. The dome above the transept is 52 feet (16 m) high, supported by arches and squinches. At least three different artists painted the artwork inside the church.^{[citation needed]} It is considered by many to be the finest example of Spanish mission architecture in the United States.

"Beautifully intricate paintings. The coloured paint was either created from local plant pigment, or was shipped from Spain." PY

"The Mission was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

"Angels and "rope" everywhere." PY

" San Xavier is still actively run by Franciscans, and continues to serve the Native community by which it was built. Widely considered to be the finest example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States, the Mission hosts some 200,000 visitors each year.^[1] It is open to the public daily, except when being used for church services.

"More of the colourful artwork." PY

"The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, who have taught at the school since 1872, continue with their work and reside in the Mission convent.[1]

"The San Xavier Festival is held the evening of the Friday after Easter and features a torch-light parade of Tohono O’odham and Yaqui tribal members." (Link.)

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Photos: Taken in March 2017 by Patricia Young (friend at St. Timothy's 
                 Anglican Church, North Vancouver) while traveling through 
                 the South West U.S.A.
Photo Comments: By Patricia Young.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Xavier_del_Bac

                                                                         Prayer

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

                                                                                                                              March 26, 2017

St. Josep Catholic Church

(Google Image)

St. Josep Catholic Church
Rheinfelden, Switzerland

"Rheinfelden used to be roman-catholic until the schism of the 1870s Then the majority of the residents decided to join the newly founded christian-catholic church and the medieval church St. Martin in the town center became one of the centers of this new denomination.

"Das Himmlische Jerusalem"

Sanctuary

Painting  Detail

"It took ten years for the remaining pro-Roman catholics to find a place and the budget to build a new church. In 1882 the old church St. Josef was inaugurated. In 1948 the church was dismantled and rebuilt at almost the same location just a few steps outside the medieval town wall east of the historic center.

Altar

"The church is a frugal building with a freestanding bell tower. At the left side is has a community center as an annex that was added in 1976.

Cross

"Famous pieces inside the church there is a large painting in the chancel by Johannes Hugentobler called "Das Himmlische Jerusalem" and a wooden statue of St. Anna from around 1500." (Link.)

St. Anna

Floor Panel
***********

Photos: Taken by RW while living and working in Basel Switzerland.

Link:

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMDP71_St_Josef_Rheinfelden_AG_Switzerland

Prayer

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

                                                                                                              March 12, 2017

4310 Rheinfelden

St. Martin's

Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche
Rheinfelden, Switzerland

"Rheinfelden is a municipality in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, seat of the district of Rheinfelden. It is located 15 kilometres east of Basel. The name means the fields of the Rhine, as the town is located on the Hochrhein. It is home to Feldschlösschen, the most popular beer in Switzerland." (Link 2.)

" The church St. Martin is located in the historic center of Rheinfelden.

"An older and smaller preceding church was replaced by one of almost the current size in the late 11th century. This church was mentioned in 1146 by Bernard of Clairvaux. In 1228 the bishop of Basel gave permit to the foundation of a convent of canons that existed until 1870.

"The church was extended and modified several times, 1378 to 1395, 1669 and especially between 1769 and 1772 when the gothic structure was adapted to late baroque, but without touching the basic structure. This is basically the current condition, it was renovated, but stayed unchanged in the late 19th century and again in the 1980s.

"The church was Roman-Catholic until 1873. The majority of the local church members ("all but one") decided to separate from Rome, the community with the church and all its possessions joined the newly founded Christian-Catholic Church. Since then St. Martin is the Christian-Catholic parish church of Rheinfelden. The remaining Roman-Catholics built a new church outside the historic town walls some years later.

"In 1876 Eduard Herzog received his Ordination as the first Christian-Catholic bishop of Switzerland in St. Martin." (Link 1.)

***********

Photos: Taken by RW while living and working in Basel Switzerland.
Link 1: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMENH7_Stadtkirche_St_Martin_Rheinfelden_AG_Switzerland
Link 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheinfelden

Prayer

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

                                                                                                             February 26, 2017

Vancouver International Airport
(Google Image)

BOOKLET
VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CHAPEL
RICHMOND, B.C. CANADA

This booklet is a compilation of blog posts from "Churches On Sundays" at http://www.churchesonsundays.blogspot.com.  It includes photographs, history and a description of the meditation room at Vancouver International Airport, Richmond, B.C. Canada as well as additional chapels and meditation rooms at airports, on cruise ships, and at a train station.

 Title Page

Table of Contents

The Booklet "Vancouver International Airport  Chapel" has been donated to Vancouver International Airport Chapel, Richmond, B.C. Canada.

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

Prayer

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