Very Old and Amazing Church

 

For our 42nd anniversary we visited a Catholic church and attended Mass.  This is the Holy Name Cathedral.  Build in 1874, it is very absolutely stunning.  I can see how the sheer size, the vaulted ceilings, the ornamentation, etc, would bring a sense of awe to worshippers.  We had never attended a Catholic Mass and so we decided to stay and observe (we took no pictures during Mass).  There is a lot of congregation participation in the Mass and I imagine worshippers obtain a sense of accomplishment when they memorize and perform their part.  We were surprised at the mass as there were two priests blessing the sacrament and a woman (not a nun) who did a lot of reading and prep work for the sacrament.  She then passed out the host (bread).  I thought only priests could offer the host.  Anyway, it was an awesome experience.  This is just one of many huge and very old churches in Chicago.  I am so impressed with the extremely old and elaborate architecture in Chicago.   

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