PERTH 2010: Day 4 - Sunday Mass @ St Mary's Cathedral and AQWA

Day 4 started much earlier; as I had to get up to get ready for the morning mass at St Mary's Cathedral.

I managed to catch a glimpse of the rising sun before I left the hotel


I was lucky enough to spot rainbow too!~ (It had been raining the night before)



The streets of Perth seemed deserted and lonely on an early Sunday morning; which was pretty normal for any city anyway.



Although I was in Perth; far away from home, I still did not forget my Sunday obligation =)


After mass, we continued our journey to start off the itinerary for the day


The first on the itinerary was to the AQWA (Aquarium of Western Australia)



To be continued...

Perth 2010 Day 2: St Mary's Cathedral, London Court and driving around town

After the Perth Mint, we walked around town with the remaining time left before our parking hours were up and I started exploring and checking out the time schedules for the masses in the churches nearby.


This was one of the earliest/first Catholic cathedrals in Western Australia!


Mercedes College, the kids must be rich here =P


Not far away from the St John's Church, stands the magnificent and spectacular St Mary's Cathedral



Spotted another fat black raven


LCD Screen in St Mary's Cathdral at the main entrance of the church, displaying the bulletin and news in the parish, and also the mass times.


This church, it seems, had undergone numerous changes and three main phases before becoming what it looks like today.
The St Mary's Cathedral in Perth is the church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth, and I was in awe of the beauty that was in front of me when I entered this holy place.


This church was built to fulfill the wishes of the Bishop at that time as the St John's Pro Cathedral (earlier picture) was too small for the community which resided there.

The whole cathedral just exuded such grand splendour and even reminded me of the extravagance of the St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City!


The area for the choir


The whole place just seemed to sparkle from the cold lime/marble settings and was just one of the grandest churches/cathedrals I have seen.











The marble-tiled floor

The whole limestone/marble setting grandeur of the cathedral just made it so majestic and also freezing cold in this weather.

Painted glass







Everything was just so lovely and I found myself yearning to attend mass immediately!
We left but I was certain that I was definitely going for the Sunday mass ;)

We were on the streets again, driving around and enjoying our sightseeing around the city.
Metal hopping kangaroos on the side


London Court, one of the most stylish shopping arena in Perth set in the unique Tudor and Elizabethan style


Traffic in Perth!


Subway station


Entering the quieter suburbs area to our next destination


Where one can spot familiar names like Nando's (which were yellow in color here instead of green), KFC, Caltex




Holden, the brand of the car we rented....we were proudly driving the local car baby! =P


To be continued...

Rome: St Peter's Basilica (Part 2)

Wikipedia:
Maderno's nave

Maderno's nave, looking towards the chancelTo the single bay of Michelangelo's Greek Cross, Maderno added a further three bays. He made the dimensions slightly different to Michelangelo's bay, thus defining where the two architectural works meet. Maderno also tilted the axis of the nave slightly. This was not by accident, as suggested by his critics. An ancient Egyptian obelisk had been erected in the square outside, but had not been quite aligned with Michelangelo's building, so Maderno compensated, in order that it should, at least, align with the Basilica's facade. [12]

The nave has huge paired pilasters, in keeping with Michelangelo's work. The size of the interior is so "stupendously large" that it is hard to get a sense of scale within the building.[12][30] The four cherubs who flutter against the first piers of the nave, carrying between them two Holy Water basins, appear of quite normal cherubic size, until approached. Then it becomes apparent that each one is over 2 metres high and that real children cannot reach the basins unless they scramble up the marble draperies. The aisles each have two smaller chapels and a larger rectangular chapel, the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Choir Chapel. These are lavishly decorated with marble, stucco, gilt, sculpture and mosaic. Remarkably, there are very few paintings, although some, such as Raphael's "Sistine Madonna" have been reproduced in mosaic. The most precious painting is a small icon of the Madonna, removed from the old basilica.[12]

Maderno's last work at St. Peter's was to design a crypt-like space or "Confessio" under the dome, where the Cardinals and other privileged persons could descend in order to be nearer the burial place of the apostle. Its marble steps are remnants of the old basilica and around its balustrade are 95 bronze lamps.




Wikipedia:
Cattedra Petri and Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament

Bernini's "Cathedra Petri" and "Gloria"Bernini then turned his attention to another precious relic, the so-called Cathedra Petri or "throne of St. Peter" a chair which was often claimed to have been used by the apostle, but appears to date from the 12th century. As the chair itself was fast deteriorating and was no longer serviceable, Pope Alexander VII determined to enshrine it in suitable splendour as the object upon which the line of successors to Peter was based. Bernini created a large bronze throne in which it was housed, raised high on four looping supports held effortlessly by massive bronze statues of four Doctors of the Church, Saints Ambrose and Augustine representing the Latin Church and Athanasius and John Chrysostum the Greek Church. The four figures are dynamic with sweeping robes and expressions of adoration and ecstasy. Behind and above the Cattedra, a blaze of light comes in through a window of yellow alabaster, illuminating, at its centre, the Dove of the Holy Spirit. The elderly painter, Andrea Sacchi, had urged Bernini to make the figures large, so that they would be seen well from the central portal of the nave. The chair was enshrined in its new home with great celebration of January 16, 1666.[12][22]

Bernini's final work for St. Peter's, undertaken in 1676, was the decoration of the Chapel of the Sacrament. To hold the sacramental Host, he designed a miniature version in gilt bronze of Bramante's Tempietto, the little chapel that marks the place of the death of St. Peter. On either side is an angel, one gazing in rapt adoration and the other looking towards the viewer in welcome. Bernini died in 1680 in his 82nd year.[12]


Wikipedia:
Dome - successive designs and final solution

Bramante's domeThe dome of St. Peter's rises to a total height of 136.57 metres (448.1 ft) from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. It is the tallest dome in the world.[25] Its internal diameter is 41.47 metres (136.1 ft), being just slightly smaller than two of the three other huge domes that preceded it, those of the Pantheon of Ancient Rome and Florence Cathedral of the Early Renaissance. It has a greater diameter by approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) than that of the third great dome, Constantinople's Hagia Sophia church, completed in 537. It was to the domes of the Pantheon and Florence duomo that the architects of St. Peter's looked for solutions as to how to go about building what was conceived, from the outset, as the greatest dome of Christendom.

Beautifully crafted statues of the angels, saints, and our Lady Mother.





Saint Helena


I found an emblem bearing my patron saint!:)



Confession room


A beautiful place; and I just felt so at peace here!

I have even managed to attend a short service by the parish priests; and they were conducted in Latin!
I've even received the Holy Host from this basilica =)
I stayed more than half a day here; as I was rather reluctant to leave this beautiful and meaningful place to me.

Too bad I didn't get to see his Holiness, the Pope himself; who is the head of our Catholic church as he only comes out to say mass to the public on Wednesdays.

With a heavy heart, I had to make my move to my next destination and praying that I will someday come back; or definitely will come back:)








Souvenir shop along the street




Goodbye now, Vatican City and St Peter's Basilica! I will definitely come back:)