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The Interior of the St. James Chapel
he magnificent altar and its sculptures are of Caen limestone carved in
France. The altar stands 50 feet tall. Its central figure is St. James the
Greater, patron saint of travelers and pilgrims. His symbols are a staff
and shell. To his left and right stand six angels, each holding a symbol
associated with the crucifixion: a spear, cross, hammer and nails, pillar
at which Jesus was scourged, the Eucharist of the Last Supper, and the Crown
of Thorns. At the base of the altar is a sculpture depicting the Last Supper
as painted by Leonardo da Vinci in his famous mural in Milan, Italy.
A fine brass sanctuary light hangs above the sanctuary.
Along the north and south walls of the chapel are
the 14 Stations of the Cross, a traditional Roman Catholic series of images
depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ. This superb set, oil painted on copper
and framed in Gothic Revival-inspired quatrefoils, is the work of a Redemptorist
brother from Munich, Germany. The painting style is Nazarene, an influential
l9th -century German art movement which had very broad appeal.
- Jesus is condemned to death
- Jesus accepts his cross
- Jesus falls for the first time
- Jesus meets His mother
- Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross
- Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
- Jesus falls the second time
- Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
- Jesus falls the third time
- Jesus is stripped of His garments
- Jesus is nailed to the cross
- Jesus dies on the cross
- Jesus' body is taken down from the cross
- Jesus' body is laid in the tomb.
The 56 oak pews were manufactured by the American Seating
Co. of Chicago. They seat about 450 people.
The floor tiles and marble were provided by the
National Mosaic Tile Co. of Cicero, Ill., and the seating was installed by
Brady and Co. of Chicago. The great chandeliers were produced in the shops
of the Pearlman Co. of Chicago. The original pipe organ was a three-manual
Wangerin-Weickhardt of Milwaukee. The current organ is a 1950 Kilgarin from
St. Louis.
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