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A view of the Organ and Stained Glass Windows |
Herein also due tribute is paid to Most Reverend P. Whelan, O.M.I., Very Reverend P. McCarthy, O.M.I, and Reverend J. Braniff, O.M.I, who laboured indefatigably to secure the site and the necessary funds. Had it not been for their interest and zeal the work of building the Cathedral might well have been delayed many years. The Cathedral designed by Mr. Brian Gregory, B.A., A.R.I.B.A., M.R.I.A. of Belfast, Northern Ireland and the work supervised by Mr. John Monahan, B.Arch., M.I.A., is considered eminently suitable for its holy purpose and an ornament amongst the buildings of Johannesburg. It will always be a symbol of the deep faith and generosity of the Catholics of the Diocese who have contributed for years towards the cost of the Cathedral.
May those who come to worship God in the new Cathedral be ever mindful in their prayers of those who planned the great undertaking, designed and constructed it and the many benefactors who provided the funds and furniture. Since of old God promised to hear the prayers addressed to Him in the Temple, so we may be sure He will hear and grant the prayers offered to Him in this modern Temple dedicated to His Son. "My eyes also shall be open, and My ears attentive to the prayer of him that shall pray in this place. For I have chosen, and have sanctified this place, that My name may be there for ever, and My eyes and My heart may remain there perpetually." (2 Par. 7/15); May He hear the prayers, reward and bless all those who have in any way helped with the erection of this Cathedral of Christ the King.
+ Hugh Boyle
Bishop of Johannesburg
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The Cathedral of Christ the King has the traditional plan form of a Latin Cross, a form eminently suited to its site which is long and narrow. The building is 267' 0" long and 96' 0" wide across the transepts with a ceiling height of 65' 0". The main entrance, which is in Saratoga Avenue, is approached by canopied steps through a porch with open grille walls. The facade at this point is 81' 0" above pavement level.
The system of construction is a portal type reinforced concrete frame on piled foundations with reinforced concrete purlins and roof slabs. All structural members are exposed and have red granite finish. This was achieved by using a special red granite aggregate for the exposed surfaces and by bush hammering the concrete when wooden shuttering was removed. This gives the warm red-brown natural and permanent finish to all exposed surfaces. The walls are in brickwork up to the clerestory level (19' l0" above the floor). Above that level the walls become a tracery of concrete with an infilling of antique French and English coloured and multi-toned glass. The glass and concrete walls have been achieved by a system of precast members fixed between the main portal frames which occur at 12' 0" centres. The precast members form a series of squares of 4' 6" side, and rectangles 2' 3"X4' 6" which are infilled with concrete slabs pierced with openings to give regular patterning for the glass. An alternative patterning was used on the main south facade and for the end walls of the transepts. All this infilling precast concrete work was again faced with natural stone and the aggregate of fine stone exposed by wire brushing and the thousands of individual glass pieces were finished within a perimeter band of lead and then fixed into rebates in the concrete slabs.
Stained glass proper was limited to the Sanctuary where there are eight panels 9' 6" X 4' 6" and to single 4' 6" X 4' 6" panels, on the clerestory, one to each bay or twenty-four in all. The theme of each of the picture windows was suggested by His Lordship, Bishop Boyle and the glass colour scheme and all the stained glass work was carried out by Mr. Patrick Pollen, the Dublin Stained Glass Artist.
The subject matter of the stained glass windows is as follows: On the Gospel side-Christ Meets his Mother; Flight into Egypt; The Nativity; The Immaculate Conception. On the Epistle side-Christ the King; feed my Sheep; Pentecost; The Assumption. Above these at clerestory level are depicted symbols of: Cross and Nails; Virgo Potens; The Lamb of God; Rose Mystica; Chi-Ro and Crown; Fold of Sheep; The Holy Ghost; Vas Honoris. The remaining stained glass windows, in the Nave, are composed of symbols at high level depicting as follows on the Gospel side-The Angel-St. Matthew; The Lion-St. Mark; Chi-Ro in circle of Eternity; Wheat-The Bread; Anchor - The Anchor of Faith; The Pelican-Christ's Church; The Trinity; Fish and net-The net of Souls: and on the Epistle side-The Bull-St. Luke; The Eagle - St. John; The Fish-1X0VS; Grapes-The Wine ; Ship- The ship of the Church; The Chalice and Host; Alpha Omega; The Keys of St. Peter. (Note: In the Nave symbols bear relation to their opposite numbers in general, in the Sanctuary to their accompanying window below).
The Cathedral is composed of the following plan units:-
Both these Chapels are roof lighted and finished in hardwood strip ceilings and have simple type Altars each on a raised predella. The Chapels have end walls of unpolished marble briquettes.
An attempt has been made in the design and structure of the Cathedral to provide, within the budget laid down, a building on a dignified scale as befits the important centre and large congregation which it serves. The structure has been treated simply and in such a way that throughout the coming years there shall be a minimum of maintenance necessary. Though marbles from Italy have been used these have been limited to the Sanctuary, Altars and aisles, but the general decorative effect has been achieved with untreated natural materials such as the glass and granite faced concrete, the brick of the walls and the natural wood finishes of the seats and ceilings.
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| A view of the main Altar |
"Later on we might do the beautiful and the grand and then we mean to do it
right well"-these words were written sixty-five years ago by the priest, Father
Aloysius Schoch O.M.I., who built the Kerk St. Pro-Cathedral to be a future
Parish Hall but to serve as a Church until the building of the Cathedral proper.
He hoped to realise this plan on the adjoining stands within the decade, but it
is only today that the Cathedral of Christ the King has been realised on a
completely new site. In a few months time Johannesburg will celebrate its
seventy-fifth birthday. The Church has played an important part in the
development of this metropolis and the opening and dedication of the New
Cathedral of Christ the King, will be for all a vision realised, a dream come
true, a promise fulfilled, a long series of sacrifices rewarded. The story of
the events of the past three quarters of a century must be of interest to all,
if for no other reason that they may appreciate the solid foundations laid by
the pioneers and the manner in which the next generation has built upon those
foundations.
Beginnings
While visits were made across the Vaal River in the early fifties by pioneer missionaries, Fr. Juaquin da Santa Rita Montanha (from Mozambique) and Fr. Hoenderwanger, O. Praem (from Fauresmith) our story really begins in 1870 when freedom of Catholic Worship was granted in the South African Republic, and Fr. Le Bihan O.M.I, established the first mission in Potchefstroom, the former Capital.
With the finding of gold in the Eastern Transvaal (1875) Fr. Walsh, O.M.I, came from Natal and built a small Church at Pilgrims Rest and later at Lydenburg. It was Bishop Jolivet O.M.I, of Natal who journeyed by post cart to Pretoria (1877) and dedicated the new mission in the Capital to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Almost a decade later when the diggers travelled from the Diamond Fields with the exciting news that gold had been found in Barberton and De Kaap they little realised that they were crossing over the richest gold mine in the world-the hidden goldfields of the Witwatersrand.
The following year an outcrop of gold bearing rock was found by chance at
Langlaagte and in the September (1886) President Kruger declared the fields "a
public digging", it was thus the mining camp was born. As the news spread
prospectors came from all parts of South Africa and even from overseas to seek
their fortune on the "Ridge of White Waters". As the numbers increased visits
were made by the Oblate Fathers in Pretoria and in February 1887 arrangements
were made to say Mass for the Catholics among the prospectors.
First Mass
A very significant entry is found in the diary of Fr. L. Trabaud, O.M.I, on February 19th. "I set out at 9.30 in the conveyance of Mr. Guerin for the Goldfields of the Witwatersrand. We were five travellers, Mr. Coleman a Jew, Mr. James-a Wesleyan Minister, a Salvation Army Officer, a young man and myself. I stayed with Mrs. Brennan who had prepared a comfortable place for me.
"February 20th. Sunday-I said the first Mass that has ever been celebrated on this plateau, open veldt up to the present. A reed hut, the Bakery of the Camp, is put at my disposal by Mr. Whelan of Bloemfontein. There were thirty-three Catholics present." The exact site of this first Mass is lost to us. But it was situated in Ferreira's Camp to the west of the present City Hall. By April there were over sixty people present when Fr. Trabaud again visited the Camp to say Mass in the house of Mr. Kennedy-to-day this site is marked by the New Magistrate's Court. The following month, Fr. Mongi-noux, the first Prefect Apostolic of the Transvaal, travelled over from Pretoria to take up residence on the Goldfields and he tells us that "the town they are building is to be called Johannesburg."
We get a good picture of prevailing conditions in the account which follows. "The beginnings of the new mission were rough and ready, the work overwhelming. One had to search among this motley crowd of diggers for those who were Catholics and then plead with them lest in the mad rush for gold they should forget their religious duties. Saturdays were particularly tiring. Where will we have Mass tomorrow? That was the question that had to be answered. We had no actual Church and we moved about, choosing some sort of spot that would be central for the miners to attend. Today, one would fix on an unfinished storeroom, next Sunday a stable and so on. Having decided on the place we had to notify the people by going the rounds of the camp."
In the light of the many Churches and our magnificent Cathedral in the city today, it is well we realise that it was only seventy-five years ago that primitive conditions prevailed.
Once again we are indebted to the diary written by Fr. Trabaud for the following interesting details of the first Church on the Witwatersrand, August 20-21st 1887. It reads as follows: "Fr. de Lacy, myself and Arthur Knight (the latter was a boarder at Loreto Convent School, his father was proprietor of one of the early mines on the Goldfields) set out for Johannesburg in a private vehicle about 10 a.m. We arrived at 5 p.m. We found Fr. Monginoux making the final details for the decoration of the School-Chapel which had been built on the corner of Fox and Smal Streets. The small convent which is attached to it is nearly finished. The neighbourhood is still just bare veldt, but the town is growing rapidly.
August 21st was the feast of St. Joachim, the patron of Pope Leo XIII (then reigning Pontiff). As the mission began on February 20th the anniversary of the election of His Holiness, Fr. Monginoux gave the name of St Leo, as the second patron. The ceremony of Blessing the new Church began at 11 a.m. and ended at 2 o'clock. We dined at the home of Messrs. J. and W. Quinn." Within the next week Fr. S. Hammer O.M.I, arrived from Kimberley to be Parish Priest.
In 1895 the Holy Family Sisters acquired a former Club and adjoining ground in End Street and the decision was made to sell the whole block, Fox, Smal, Main and Von Weilligh and build a large and more permanent edifice near the Convent.
There is a story of those early days which will be of particular interest to the Kerk Street parishioners today.
Picture Johannesburg at that time. Its eastern boundary and hence the name was End Street: to the west was Fordsburg, where a small Church had been erected in Crown Road-1891. Doornfontein was then the residential area of the town. Towards the close of 1890 Father Monginoux, was returning to the Presbytery in Fox Street, after visiting some of his parishioncrs in in Doornfontein. He crossed over the open space now bounded by Kerk, Gold, Pritchard and Nugget Streets. Its size, locality etc. immediately struck him as ideal for a Church site. With a prayer in his heart, he took a medal of Our Lady from his pocket and pushed it into the ground, driving it in with his walking stick.
Two years passed by and in 1892, Fr. Monginoux was succeeded by Fr. A. Schoch. One of the new Prefect's first duties was the choice of a new and larger site for a Church. He built the second Church already referred to on the corner of Main and Von Weilligh Streets, but three years later the whole block was acquired by Castle Brewery, and Providence guided him in the choice of the new site to the one for which Fr. Monginoux had offered that fervent prayer.
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The foundation stone was blessed and laid by Bishop Jolivet O.M.I. is this small stone that has been now transferred to the Cathedral and set into the wall at the main entrance in Saratoga Avenue.
The details of that ceremony will be of interest to us of the next generation. The date was Sunday June 7th. Solemn High Mass was sung that morning in the Convent School Hall in End Street by Fr. Van Laar with Fathers de Lacy and Tresch as Deacon and Sub-deacon. His Lordship presided and after the Mass administered Confirmation to some forty candidates. At 3.30 p.m. a large crowd gathered within the walls of the new Church, and two stones, one for the Church and another for the Presbytery, were blessed and placed in position by the Bishop. In his speech Fr. Van Laar spoke of how fitting it was that the pioneer missionary in the Transvaal, His Lordship, should have performed this ceremony and expressed the regret of all present at the unavoidable absence of Fr. Schoch
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We are told that over £300 was placed by the people on the foundation stone towards the Building Fund.
On Sunday, November 15th the new Church dedicated under the title of the Immaculate Conception was solemnly opened. Bishop Anthony Gaughren O.M.I, of Kimberley, performed the ceremony and preached.
A third ceremony took place on June 27th of the following year, the solemn blessing and inauguration of the new organ. This time Fr. Schoch was present and paid tribute to the excellent work of the choir under Mr. J. P. O'Rielly in their rendering of the Church's music and through whose efforts the funds for the new organ had been collected.
Such were the beginnings of the Kerk St. Pro-Cathedral which for over sixty years has been the Mother Church of the city and whose memories will be forever imprinted upon the minds of tens of thousands of Catholics throughout South Africa.
Meanwhile the idea of a Cathedral to replace the temporary edifice in Kerk Street was not lost sight of but like every Mother, the Pro-Cathedral sacrificed itself for her young. It is true to say that had the Bishop acted otherwise many opportunities of excellent sites and subsequent facilities for our people would have been lost.
A motor car drive from Clarendon Circle in either a north easterly or north westerly direction, and the pin pointing of our Churches, Convents, Colleges and Institutions today is proof positive of the wisdom of the pioneer priests. While the collection of funds for a Cathedral had commenced before the turn of the century it was only in 1937, on the occasion of the celebrations for the Golden Jubilee of Johannesburg's first Mass, that Bishop D. O'Leary made known his ambitious plans for a Cathedral, on the Kerk Street site.
The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 meant the postponement of his ideas and before it was over Bishop O'Leary sold half of the Kerk Street block with a view to purchasing a more central site for the Cathedral.
It is to his successor, Bishop W. P. Whelan, now Archbishop of Bloemfontein, that we owe the debt of gratitude for purchasing the site on Saratoga Avenue, just off End Street, well served by the City Transport, with facilities for parking and with a commanding position below the Berea.
Meanwhile the task of building up a sum of money for the Cathedral Fund was redoubled and here tribute must be given to Very Rev. Fr. J. G. Braniff, Administrator, for his untir|ng and most successful efforts in this direction. Bishop Whelan entrusted the plans for a Cathedral on the new site to Mr. Gregory of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
In 1954 came the news of the appointment of His Lordship to be Archbishop of Bloemfontein and the transfer of Bishop Boyle from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg. Almost from the date of his arrival Bishop Boyle was most enthusiastic about the building of the Cathedral as soon as possible.
Various changes were made in the former plan, undertaken by Mr. Gregory's son, Mr. Brian Gregory B.A., A.R.I.B.A., M.R.I.A., and all the preliminaries having been gone through, the foundation stone of the Cathedral was laid by Bishop O'Leary, and blessed by Bishop Boyle on June 29th, 1958, the Centenary Year of the Apparitions of Our Blessed Lady at Lourdes. On that occasion Bishop Boyle remarked how fitting it was that the ceremony should take place on the feasts of Saints Peter and Paul. "As this building is for us a confession of faith in the Divinity of Christ, of trust in His promises, an indication of our love and sign of our loyalty, as a practical proof we are erecting our Cathedral to His honour and glory.
"We are particularly happy to have with us today and to take an active part in this ceremony, Bishop O'Leary whose desire it always had been to have a Cathedral in this city and we are indeed happy that he will have this desire realised," concluded His Lordship. Alas it was not to be. Within a few weeks following this ceremony Bishop O'Leary passed to his reward. His remains are to be reinterred in the crypt of the Cathedral.
During the last two years the work of building has gone on continually. Every Catholic and many other citizens too, have taken an interest in the progress made and as the shell of the edifice reached completion it was with pride that all looked forward to the opening ceremony.
This then is the story of the Cathedral of Christ the King in our City. Elsewhere in this brochure there are detailed descriptions and explanations of its many features. Here is a story of visions and dreams, of untold sacrifices, that with God's help has been brought to reality.
As we of our time feel grateful to the pioneers so future generations will, we trust, offer a fervent prayer for the part we have played and in turn through the years they will enhance, embellish and ultimately complete this House of God in the City of Gold.
Let us hope we have fulfilled the promise made by Father Schoch over sixty years ago "Later on we might do the beautiful and the grand and then we mean to do it right well."
| 3 p.m. | Dedication of the Cathedral and Consecration of the Altar. |
| 6 p.m. | Pontifical High Mass. |
| 11 a.m. | Pontifical High Mass at the New Cathedral. |
| 4 p.m. | Holy Mass for First Communicants. |
| 6 p.m. | Holy Hour for the Clergy. |
| 7.30 p.m. | Dinner for the Clergy at the Holy Family Convent, End Street. |
| 11 a.m. | Pontifical High Mass for the Convent School girls. |
Holy Mass 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m.
| 6.30 p.m. | Pontifical High Mass for Societies of women and girls. |
Holy Mass 6.30 a.m., 7.30 a.m., 8.30 a.m.
| 10.00 a.m. | Pontifical Requiem Mass and interment in the Cathedral Crypt of the remains of the late Bishop O'Leary, O.M.I. |
| 8.00 p.m. | Organ Recital by Dr. U. V. Schneider, Lecturer in Music at the University of the Witwatersrand. |
| 8.00 p.m. | An Hour of Sacred Music in the Cathedral, followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. |
| 11.00 a.m. | Pontifical High Mass for the pupils of Catholic Boys' Schools. |
| 6.30 p.m. | Pontifical High Mass for Societies of men and boys. |
Holy Mass 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., n a.m.
| 4.00 p.m. | Pontifical High Mass for Africans. |
| 5.30 p.m. | Low Mass. |
| 8 p.m. | Empire Theatre. A PAGEANT OF TRIBUTE-A dramatic presentation of the coming of the Mass to the City of Gold. |
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It is only the eyes of those who have deep and vivid faith who can read signs in the firmament or on the face of the earth.
Indeed, it was the Portuguese and Spaniards with their deep Catholic faith and traditions who gave sacred names to countries, ports, bays, islands and towns at which their ships touched. The world is strewn with such beautiful names: San Salvador, S. Crux, Ascension, S. Maria, Rosario, San Pedro, S. Paulo, S. Domingo, S. Ignacio and the rest, a whole calendar of saints' names can be found in any good geographical index. These men did not paint the map red, they touched it with more precious colours, they left relic-names that have come down to us from the ages of faith to the present age of infidelity.
When these wonderful sea travellers eventually reached the Cape they saw before them, from the helms of their ships, so tradition says, not only the great mountain we see to-day, not merely a flat table top of stone, but a mighty stone altar-the altar of Africa. Across it was stretched a dazzling white altar-cloth of cloud. Like luminous candles the fading stars hung in the sky and the jewelled cross above. Down the sides of the altar ran silver streams of water, darkened to the colour of blood by the quartz or sandstone rock over which they flowed; precious streams as the saving blood of Christ. The dawn, radiantly holy, lit up the great altar table of rock with flames of sacrifice. The clear blue sky above might have been Mary's robe, as she adored before so fitting an altar, the sun arose to give more light to the glassy waters of the bay, slate-grey in colour, like the breast of a dove.
Then appeared the masses of verdure on the lower slopes of the mountain. In the clear crystal air one could pick out the tree tops where the falling waters seemed to disappear into the depths below. Birds of many rich colours passed swiftly to and fro; delicate insects of every shape and form filled the sunbeams, where aromatic scents of flowers pervaded the air. All this made, and still makes, a perfect setting for so sacred a place-the Altar of Africa.
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The specification of the new organ of the Cathedral of Christ the King, has been drawn up by the present writer in consultation with the representatives of the firm of Cooper, Gill and Tomkins, Johannesburg, who have been awarded the contract to build the instrument.
Incorporated in the new organ is the instrument formerly in the Pro-Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception, Kerk Street. This two-manual and pedal organ was built by the renowned firm of W. Hill and Son, London, and erected in the Pro-Cathedral in June, 1897 In 2 certain Sydney Smith, who, although rather a Jack-of-all-trades, was connected with several Johannesburg organs in the days before the establishment of Messrs. Cooper, Gill and Tomkins' Johannesburg branch. The total cost of the instrument was £838.12.6. A similar instrument would be valued at approximately £3,800 today.
The organ had an attached draw-stop console and the action was tracker. The late Mr. A. V. Alien of Messrs. Cooper, Gill and Tomkins replaced the hand blower with an electric motor in 1908 and the same firm electrified the action entirely in 1948 when a detached stop-key console was installed and the compass of the pedal Bourdon 16' was extended in order to provide an eight-foot Flute extension. This latter work was carried out by Mr. W. Tozer, the present managing-director of Messrs. Cooper, Gill and Tomkins in Johannesburg.
When the matter of an organ for the new Cathedral arose this old Hill organ was examined and all the stops found to be of fine quality. With the exception of the Great Open Diapason 8' all the pipes have been revoked and have found a new home in the Cathedral of Christ the King, where they provide a link with the old Pro-Cathedral.
The new Cathedral is a large building capable of seating some fifteen-hundred people. An instrument of considerable size was therefore found to be necessary.
The organ will be most often used to provide an accompaniment, and to lead the singing of a choir and large congregation. Its three divisions of Positif (unenclosed), Great (unenclosed) and Swell (enclosed), with appropriate pedal have been designed primarily with a view to providing suitable accompanimental registers of all dynamics and as wide a range of tonal variety as possible.
The organ is placed at the ecclesiastical West of the Cathedral on a large gallery where the case of Great Open Diapason pipes looks very fine indeed. The Positif is built out in front of the Great where it can speak unimpeded and to the best advantage. The organ contains a total of 2,527 speaking pipes. The entire action is electric and the detached three-manual draw-stop console is placed on the front of the gallery thus enabling the organist to hear the organ and conduct the choir which will be seated between the console and organ.
The cost of rebuilding the organ in the new Cathedral has been borne by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Engelhard in memory of Mr. Guy L. A. Brian.
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| The Nativity | The Immaculate Conception |
Pentecost | Christ the King | Flight into Egypt |
Entering the Cathedral the beautiful stained glass windows throw a wonderful medley of colours on the marble aisles and benches. Far above our heads at intervals may be seen the symbol windows to right and left. Those opposite each other have the same general theme. The first to the left over the Organ Gallery shows a net and fish. The fisherman's net is a symbol of the Church. "The kingdom of Heaven is like a net cast into the sea and gathering together all kinds of fishes." (Matt. 13:47). The fish represents the faithful, recalling the words of Our Divine Lord to His Apostles: "Come after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." (Mark.1:17).
To the right the first symbol window has the 'Crossed Keys' symbolic of the power of the Pope, Vicar of Christ and Visible head of the Church on earth. To St. Peter, the first Pope, Our Lord said: "I will give thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven." (Matt.16:19).
The second window on the left has a symbol of the Holy Trinity, namely three interlinked circles and opposite it we see the window with the Greek letters, Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In the Apocalypse we read: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God, who is and who was, and who is to come -the Almighty." (Ap.1:8).
The Pelican, which, according to legend, feeds its young with its own blood is a symbol of our redemption through the sufferings of Our Lord and particularly of the Blessed Eucharist in which He nourishes our souls with His Body and Blood. St. Thomas Aquinas uses this image in the Adoro Te:
"Deign, 0 Jesus, Pelican of Heaven,
Me, a sinner, in Thy Blood to lave,
To a single drop of which is given
All the world from all sin to save."
The window opposite with the Chalice and Host reminds us of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in which the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. It is for the celebration of this Sacrifice that every Catholic Church is built. In it are the Altar and the Tabernacle where Our Lord lives in the Blessed Sacrament-truly it is the House of God.
The Anchor represents the virtue of hope. St. Paul reminds us: "Hold fast the hope set before us which we have as an anchor of the soul sure and firm" (Heb. 6/19). This is one of the oldest Christian symbols and is to be found frequently in the Catacombs of Rome. Under this form too the cross was represented in the days of persecution.
Its counterpart on the other side is the ship, the barque of Peter, a symbol also of the Church. It is interesting to note that the nave of the church, reserved for the faithful, takes its name from navis-the Latin word for a ship.
Wheat and grapes on the next two windows opposite each other suggest the bread and wine for the Sacrifice of the Mass and are a symbol of the Holy Eucharist. The monogram of Christ takes many forms but all are formed by using certain letters from the Greek words for "Jesus" and "Christ". The fish is a symbol of the name of Christ. The letters of this Greek word for fish "Ichthus" make up an acrostic for the phrase "Jesus Christ, Son of God and Saviour". We now come to the four symbols of the Evangelists. The winged creatures that represent them are thus described by the prophet Ezechiel: "And as for the likeness of their faces: there was the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right side of all the four: and the face of an ox on the left side of all the four: and the face of an eagle over all the four." (1:10).
The lion represents St. Mark because he commences his gospel with an account of St. John the Baptist whom he describes as: "A voice of one crying in the desert" (Mark. 1:3), the desert being the home of the lion. On the opposite window is the eagle, symbol of St. John. The eagle soaring far into the heavens represents St. John who carries us in the opening words of his Gospel to heaven itself: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (Jn.1).
The man represents St. Matthew who begins his gospel with the human ancestry of Our Lord. The ox opposite represents St. Luke because it was the animal of sacrifice. St. Luke stresses the atonement made by the sufferings and death of Christ and furthermore he mentions the priestly functions of Zachary.
We now come to the Sanctuary. There are eight large windows with small symbol windows over each. From left to right the windows are the Immaculate Conception to commemorate the fact that the Diocese of Johannesburg is dedicated to Our Lady under the title of the Immaculate Conception. It serves also to remind us all that the Oblates of Mary Immaculate were the Pioneer Missionaries in the Transvaal.
Over this window is a rose-Rosa Mystica-symbol of the Blessed Virgin and is one of the titles given to her in the Litany of Loreto.
The Nativity is pictured in the second window. Over it is the symbol of Christ, the "Lamb of God". This was the name given to Our Lord by St. John the Baptist, "Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29).
Then follows the Flight into Egypt with the symbol of Our Lady as Virgin Most Powerful. Our Lady is powerful because of her influence with her Divine Son and also because of her humility, her trust in God and her conformity with His Holy Will.
The last large window on the left-hand side of the Sanctuary as you face the altar is the meeting of the Son and His Mother on the way to Calvary. The symbol window shows the cross and nails. The nails used in crucifying Christ are found in all symbols of the Passion, sometimes three, sometimes four.
It will be seen that these pictures on the left of the Sanctuary lead up to the Crucifixion represented by the huge Crucifix over the High Altar. This crucifix is carved wood. On or over the altar on which Mass is offered there must be a crucifix which can be seen by all the faithful to remind us that the Mass is the same Sacrifice as that of Calvary.
On the right of the High Altar is the window of Christ the King which also serves to indicate the triumph of Christ by His Resurrection from the dead. Fittingly over this window there is the monogram of Christ and a crown, the sign of sovereignty and victory. After His Resurrection Our Lord gave St. Peter supreme authority over His Church when He said to him, "Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me more than these? He saith to Him: yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee. He saith to him feed my lambs." This question was repeated thrice and the third time Peter answered, "Lord Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love Thee. And Christ said to him 'Feed my sheep'." (Jn. 21:15).
Over this window is the sheepfold which represents the Church and shows the flock partaking of the waters of life (Ap.22:1).
The third large window on the right represents the coming of the Holy Ghost on Our Lady, the Apostles and disciples. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. Over this window is the symbol of the Holy Ghost usually represented as a dove. All the evangelists record the appearance of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove at the baptism of Christ.
The last of the large windows is fittingly Our Lady, Queen Assumed into Heaven, the Patroness of South Africa. The symbol window is another title of Our Lady from the Litany of Loreto "Vessel of Honour." Mary must be thought of as a casket, a precious shrine, containing an inestimable treasure. Shrine of Spirit-of her own exquisite soul, and of God's Holy Spirit, who 'overshadowed' her, and entered and dwelt in her". . (Fr. Martindale, S.J.)
Mr. Patrick Pollen, the stained glass artist, has not only given us beautiful windows but also matter for beautiful thoughts on the principal mysteries of our religion.
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Jesus carries His Cross |
Assumption of Mary | Christ and St Peter |
I have been tutoring a Polish nun [Little Sisters of Mary Immaculate], in English composition over the internet since mid-2007. Sister Barbara Skora, L.S.M.I., Mary Immaculate Nursery School, 231 Pretoria Road, Lyndhurst, Johannesburg. I happen to open the Johannesburg Archdiocese web site and read the wonderful article on Christ the King Cathedral, which appears to be a magnificant building. It is a "young" cathedral-church, however the design is great. I printed out the entire article and will send to a Monsignor Canon friend of mine. Sister is progressing very well in her learning of English writing.
Sincerely,
Sir Knight Robert E Zeigler, Knights of Columbus, Cardinal James Gibbons Assembly, Newark Delaware, Diocese of Wilmington, Province of Baltimore, St. Elizabeth Seton Parish USA
-- Robert E Zeigler on March 09, 2008 07:48 PM (view details)