The Shrine of St. Joseph

Ok, here's my first post about my trip to St. Louis. This is the shrine of St. Joseph.

As you can see from the front of the shrine, it is still being restored. The Shrine sits on a rather large piece of land, which would be great for pilgrimages and festivals. As you can see from the picture, there is a rather large piazza in front.

Here is the breathtaking high altar. It's called the altar of miracles and you can find out why at the shrines website.

Here are the two side altars. The second one, called the Jesuit altar, it particular interesting. At one point in time, the church was under the control of the Jesuits and statues of Jesuit saints fill the church.

One such Jesuit saint, Peter Clavier, is particularly honored at the shrine. Why? It's because of the confirmed miracle that took place here. The Shrine of St. Joseph is the only place in America that has a confirmed miracle. The miracle (the details of which I don't know but again is available on their website) helped in the canonisation process of St. Peter Clavier.

I was extremely impressed with the statuary in the church. Before the church was restored, all of these statues were badly damaged and dry rotted (they're all wood). This statue here, depicting the death of St. Joseph, is by far my favorite. I nearly wept when I saw it.The ceiling seems to be all stencil work. If I'm right, that that makes the ceilings even more amazing. The church was full of color. It was literally like looking into heaven.

These last two pictures, of one of the windows and one of the two confessionals, were some simple details I wished to highlight. The windows are patterned windows, and despite being plain, are very noble and speak volumes to the artistic and sacred treasure that is the Shrine of St. Joseph.

If you're ever in the St. Louis area, a trip to the shrine is a must. It would be great for a family pilgrimage as well as a pilgrimage for lovers of art and sacred architecture.

My next post will be about my trip to the Old Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis King of France.