College Chapel Again

Sorry for the brief bloggy break. I have been busy being in Ireland!

Here is an update with pictures of College Chapel on campus. I am so excited that I found my way in. The other day I tried to get in, but I could not. I feared that the people who told me that it is always open were wrong. It turns out that there is only one way in, of course, the only door that I did not try. You have to go in through another building. Here all the buildings are connected. Sometimes you can walk through them but oftentimes not. You have to go outside. Another confusing thing is that the other chapels are in buildings, not free standing. When I ask people directions, they do not mention that it is in another building so I get there and walk around the building looking for a sign on a building. Needless to say, it leads to A LOT of walking and I leave an extra 15 minutes early for getting lost time whenever I am going someplace I have not been on South/Old campus.

A friend and I went to mass this morning in another oratory called St. Joseph's. It is just a smaller chapel that they use on a regular basis. We had the time wrong so we had an extra 3o minutes to walk around and take pictures. My friend knew the secret way in to the College Chapel. It was magnificent. I am realizing that I am really into churches and God related paintings or graveyards or literature. Here are the possibly illegal pictures that I took, but there was no sign saying that I was not allowed to so I did.

Above is the outside of College Chapel. Below is the front of the chapel.

Here is the stained glass window from the inside. We think that it is Jesus in the center with his 12 disciples on the inner ring. We could not figure out who was in the outer ring.

This is one of the many stained glass windows lining both sides of the church. The picture does not really do it justice.

Alter

Pews lining each side of the church. The pews are roped off as you can see. I talked to a woman after church and she was surprised to hear that. She said that it is used often, though it does not seem like it to me. Two years ago the parish of Maynooth, the church that I went to last week, was under construction they had mass here. Wouldn't that be cool?!

Below: Murial's that are the stations of the cross under the stained glass windows lining ether side of the church above the pews. Oh, the tribute to our God!

The church was started in 1875 by Pugin who they call God's Architect because he built Westminster Abby and some others. Then he died during it and it was finished by someone else by 1902.