Tag: Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis

How did I not know that the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, aka St. Louis Cathedral, which sits in the Central West end of the city, rivals churches I have seen to-date?

I always knew this cathedral was there; however, I’ve never taken the time to visit. What a terrible miss on my part. It took a visitor from another country, who is spending Thanksgiving with us, to request a visit for me to finally discover this gem. Let’s just say that I was BLOWN AWAY! Completed in 1914, named for Saint Louis, and designated a basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1997, it’s an astonishing collection of mosaic art work.

My head swirled as I entered and looked up and around. There was a man from North Carolina admiring the details next to me. He commented that he’s been all over the world and this is one of the best cathedrals he has visited. I told him that I’ve never seen so many mosaic tiles outside of Church of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg, Russia (Russian: Церковь Спаса на Крови, Tserkovʹ Spasa na Krovi). He agreed.

I had to look it up because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. According to Wikipedia, the basilica contains 41.5 million glass tesserae (tile) pieces in 7,000+ colors. The tiles cover 83,000 square feet and it is, indeed, the largest mosaic collection in the world outside Russia. Holy moly—right in my home town!

The mosaic work was done by several people/companies including a father/son team who dedicated their lives to the art.

It is #6 on TripAdvisor’s things to do in St Louis, following the Arch, the Zoo, Missouri Botanical Gardens, the City Museum, and Busch Stadium. While I don’t disagree those are must see attractions, THIS BASICILA is a treasure of epic proportions—and I, too, have seen a ton of churches around the world. I may not be Catholic, but gosh, was this a spiritual moment!

There is a crypt with the former Cardinals of the St Louis Archdiocese, an organ with a story too long to tell here, and a museum to learn more about the mosaic art work. We didn’t have time to explore these 3 in detail (as we had reservations to go up #1 on the list—the Gateway Arch), but I will take a guided tour next time.