Two weeks ago my friend Jennifer and I were able to travel to Washington DC for the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Home school Conference. It was a blast but very exhausting! I swear we didn't even have much time to eat the whole weekend. I totally forgot to take pics but the wonderful Lacy over at Catholic Icing got some great pics (Jennifer and I are in one!) and explained it wonderfully. So make sure to go check it out! I am glad I had a chance to go and glad that I was able to meet some pretty awesome people while I was there.
We cut out early Saturday afternoon and went to visit the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was a wonderful experience that I will never forget! I took some pictures with my little rinky dink camera but Jennifer got some awesome shots so I will share hers instead! Also, all captions are by her as well. Our tour guide had a very strong accent and talked in a deep voice so with my hearing loss I wasn't able to understand much that he said. Luckily Jen Explained it all to me afterwards! The Basilica of the National Shrine is the largest Roman Catholic Church in North America and one of the ten largest in the Nation. It has over 70 Chapels throughout! This place will truly take your breath away. I recommend anyone visiting the area (Catholic or not) to check it out!
Depiction of Mary in the Book of Revelation. The Baby Jesus is being carefully taken out of harm's way by two angels. Everything is in mosaics.
The relief is 58' X 17' high and is made from a slab of Travertine Marble. It depicts the Universal Call to Holiness.
Jesus stares down at you while you are at Mass. His right eye is relaxed and looking upon you with love, his left eye is raised and he is looking upon you in judgement. His hands are 5' tall and his head is 7' tall. Everything you see is in mosaics. I think the 3 angels below Him represent Faith, Hope & Charity.
There are 5 domes in the ceiling of the Upper Church. The largest dome is the 2nd largest in DC - only smaller to the Capitol building.
Depiction of Pentecost
This is the gorgeous Blessed Sacrament chapel where the Eucharist is exposed for adoration and prayer. Everything was breathtaking.
This is the Eastern Rite chapel where Bishops & priests of the Eastern Rite can celebrate Mass.
Our Lady of Vietnam.Everything on the ceilings and walls are done in mosaics.
I had wanted to go to the conference, but it was just too far and too much of an expense this year. I've never been to the Basilica, either, but will definitely go one day - it looks gorgeous!! You have some great pics, thanks for sharing!
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