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The interior of Lutyens' model A scale model of a spectacular cathedral planned for Liverpool but abandoned after World War II has been put on display at the Walker Art Gallery.The model like the cathedral itself was never completed. Since 1992 conservators at National Museums Liverpool have been working on the restoration of the model.Edwin Lutyens was commissioned to design a cathedral for Liverpool’s Roman Catholic community in the 1930’s, on the site of the current Metropolitan Cathedral. The interruption caused by World War II and a lack of funds meant that only the crypt was built.  A video...

Even a brilliant autumn day can't compete with the glorious natural light that illuminates the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary just days before its rededication. After a two-year, $32 million restoration, the light again flows through the basilica's skylights and sparkling, translucent window panes. The interior space is a soaring masterpiece of pendentives, domes and barrel vaults, but the light -- pure and elemental -- calls to mind the simplicity of a country church or Quaker meetinghouse. It is consummately American light, the kind rarely, if ever, found in Europe's famed cathedrals,...

Worshippers coming out of services at London’s Westminster Cathedral today were greeted by a gang of Islamists, reports Joee Blogs - a Catholic Londoner. As we came out about 100 Islamists were chanting slogans such as “Pope Benedict go to Hell,” “Pope Benedict you will pay, the Muja Hadeen are coming your way,” “Pope Benedict watch your back,” and other hateful things.View Comments

Murder in the Cathedral Sept 9, 2006 An Exclusive Pajamas Media video presentation on Iranian President Khatami’s visit to the Washington National Cathedral. Produced by Andrew Marcus with Richard Miniter. Among those interviewed are journalist Eli Lake and Amir Abbas Fakhravar, an Iranian dissident jailed during the Khatami regime. See original link for video link

IS THE NEW CATHEDRAL TO PADRE PIO IN SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO ACTUALLY A "MASONIC TEMPLE"? I have just received and am in the process of studying a special issue, #381 (March 2006), of the Italian religious magazine “CHIESA VIVA”. It is my understanding that in March 2006 this special issue was sent by the publisher/editor of “Chiesa Viva”, Dr. Monsignor Luigi Villa, to Catholic & 'catholic' priests, Bishops, Cardinals, as well as a selected group of Italian lay persons including members of the judiciary. This entire special issue deals with only one subject, that being the inauguration in July 2004...

Here’s How the Church of the Future is Experimenting in the Cathedral of MilanWith video installations, electronic music, and abstract art. With Lenten readings from Oscar Wilde and Jack Kerouac. With the pulpit given over to nonbelievers. All this in the great diocese whose patrons are Saint Ambrose and Saint Charles BorromeoROMA, June 13, 2006 – One of the key phrases of the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI is “new evangelization.” But in the Duomo of Milan, the cathedral of one of the most important and populous dioceses in the world, governed by cardinal Carlo Maria Martini...

A group of Afghans are staging a sit-in at St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. The group of around 30 have been at the Cathedral since earlier this afternoon. It is understood those involved in the protest are failed asylum seekers facing deportation. Advertisement They have said they were planning to go on hunger strike. Gardaí say they are demanding to speak to officials at the Department of Justice.

Hard to believe how the time's flown, but six years ago tonight, John Cardinal O'Connor passed from our midst much too soon. How quickly we forget. In his final years, as he wound down his ministry as archbishop of New York, I was immeasurably blessed to know the cardinal, to meet up with him every so often, and to have received a good bit of his wisdom, humor and the lessons he had picked up along the way. His kindness to a young upstart was a gift which remains alive with me constantly. At sunset on 3 May 2000,...

The Rev. Robert T. Ritchie, the freshly appointed rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral, woke up at 3 a.m. in his old rectory in the Bronx yesterday to make sure he made it to Ash Wednesday services at his new church on time. "I couldn't take any chance that I'd be late," he said. A few weeks ago, in a move that surprised many in the Archdiocese of New York, Cardinal Edward M. Egan moved Father Ritchie, 60, from a parish in Kingsbridge Heights to St. Patrick's Cathedral, one of the nation's most exalted houses of worship. For a priest who...

Reclaiming America’s cathedral by George Weigel St. Patrick’s is, arguably, the most famous Catholic cathedral in the United States. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis is, arguably, the most beautiful. But Baltimore’s Old Cathedral, now the Basilica of the Assumption, is indisputably the most historic. It was conceived by Archbishop John Carroll, the founder of the American hierarchy, whose diocese originally encompassed the entire United States. Archbishop Carroll wanted the first Catholic cathedral in the new republic to embody the nation’s commitment to religious freedom and turned to Benjamin Henry Latrobe, architect of the U.S. Capitol (and son of a...

The Roman Catholic cathedral of Los Angeles on Monday rescinded its invitation to hold a Christian unity conference later this month after concluding that the principal speaker was to be a controversial self-proclaimed mystic who claimed to speak directly with God, Jesus and Mary. In a letter to the sponsors, Msgr. Kevin Kostelnik, pastor of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, said that what had been represented by sponsors as a Christian unity conference had turned out to be largely a forum for Vassula Ryden, a Greek Orthodox laywoman who has attracted worldwide attention with her reports of...

Moscow, October 27, Interfax - Interior decoration and painting of the church of St.Sava of Serbia will be completed next September. The church is considered the largest Orthodox church in the world. Christ the Saviour Cathedral square in Moscow is 60x60 metres, while the church in Belgrade designed in Serbian-Byzantine style is 91x81. The fresco of Christ in the cupola of St.Sava’s church will be the largest in the Christian world. The eyes of the Saviour will be as large as one metre, Kommersant newspaper wrote Thursday. The capacity of the cathedral will accommodate some ten thousand worshippers at a...

About a thousand people crammed a Catholic church in the heart of New Orleans for an emotional Sunday Mass and prayed for the resurrection of their storm-savaged city. Some worshippers hugged and wept as Archbishop Alfred Hughes spoke from the St. Louis Cathedral altar of suffering and losses endured, and thanked those who risked their lives to rescue others. "I thank God for all of you who have made such special effort," Hughes told the congregation. "We are coming to pray New Orleans comes back to life." The wooden pews under the vaulted ceiling and chandeliers were full and worshippers...

When he walks on to a movie set, he usually gets star treatment. But as Tom Hanks arrived at Lincoln Cathedral yesterday, he found himself somewhat upstaged. A handful of protesters were making their feelings known about the decision to film scenes from The Da Vinci Code in the historic building. Led by a Catholic nun, Sister Mary Michael, they claimed the movie, based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown, should be filmed elsewhere. She led a 12-hour prayer vigil to push the message home. The controversial thriller is the story of a Vatican conspiracy to suppress the supposed...

The archdiocese of New York has just announced that Msgr. Clark's resignation from the Rectorate of St. Patrick's Cathedral has been accepted.

EACH AUGUST THE DEBATE RETURNS, this year won masterfully by my Front Page Magazine brother columnist Ronald Radosh: Should the United States on August 6, 1945, have dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima?  Given that the alternative would have required invasion of Japan and the deaths of perhaps a quarter-million Americans, a million or more Japanese, and prolonged suffering on both sides, most moral people answer Yes, we should have dropped the bomb.  We had only three bombs, one to test and two to use and none to spare on a demonstration for the Emperor. But we should also ponder...

Bishop Matthew Clark took over my home diocese of Rochester, New York, in 1978 when I was about ten years old. So fixed is his name in my memory that regardless of where I attend Mass, during the liturgy of the Eucharist I half expect the priest to say "Matthew our bishop" despite the fact that I haven't lived in Rochester for almost twenty years. A Visit Home The controversy surrounding the renovation of Sacred Heart Cathedral is something I've followed off and on since the bishop announced his intentions in 2000. Clark’s plan was to "update" the small 1928...

Background: St. John Lateran, the Pope's cathedral Rome, May. 06 (CWNews.com) - On Saturday, May 7, Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) will formally take possession of the basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the Rome diocese. Although it has not been the primary home of Roman Pontiffs since the 14th century-- St. Peter's Basilica is the site of most papal liturgical celebrations-- St. John Later remains the Pope's cathedral, and the Roman church par excellence. The name "Lateran" refers to the great patrician family of ancient Rome on his grounds the basilica now stands. For several centuries,...

MADISON, Wis. -- Firefighters spent Monday putting out hot spots after an early-morning blaze destroyed St. Raphael Cathedral, 222 W. Main St., in downtown Madison, near the Capitol. Video UPDATED SLIDESHOW: See FireDowntown Street ClosuresPaul Swain: "Our faith is not built around buildings"E-MAIL US: Your Digital Images Of FireSign-Up For Breaking News E-Mail Alerts The fire was reported at about 5:30 a.m. Monday. Large plumes of dark smoke could be seen from all directions toward the Capitol. Several area fire departments were called in to help Madison firefighters contain the fire. Firefighters got the fire under control at about 8...

From leaky roofs to secret agents: how the files I found in Iraq's looted foreign ministry cast light on the paranoid world of Saddam Hussein How many Iraqi officials does it take to fix the leaky roof of a diplomat's house in London? How long does a skilled translator need to convert one of George Galloway's parliamentary speeches into Arabic? In almost 1, 000 pages of Arabic prose, each stamped with the Eagle crest of Iraq, the files found inside the foreign ministry in Baghdad cast a somewhat surreal light on the questions that turned the bureaucratic wheels of Saddam...