Going into the Shrine of St. Therese
Kevin began by giving us a brief historical overview of the parish and how it had started, not as a Shrine for St. Therese, but rather with a different name. The Bishop of Fresno had been in Rome during the canonization of St. Therese and had asked if his new Diocese (it had just been created) could have her as a patron saint. He was given permission with the condition of naming a parish for her, which is how the Shrine was created.
The parish itself is beautiful with gorgeous stained glass windows, statues and an altar and altar piece made from Italian marble, something that in current prices, would be next to impossible. It made for an almost overwhelming experience as we entered the door following Kevin's lead. We were all blown away by the beauty of the marble artwork. We continued to be impressed by the artwork around the church: the stained glass windows, the statues, the paintings, and more. It all reminded us about the importance of God in our lives and about the story of salvation history.
We saw artwork dedicated to individuals that you don't normally see reflected in churches. There were large paintings at the back of the church of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of our Blessed Mother. There was a statue of St. Elijah. (It should not have been a surprise really, since he is referred to as Father Elijah by the Carmelite, since he was taken to heaven at Mount Carmel, but again he is not common, so surprised us with his presence.) Other surprises for us that we saw during our visit were Abraham, Melchizedek, and St. Pius X, neither of which we expected to see.
The parish itself is beautiful with gorgeous stained glass windows, statues and an altar and altar piece made from Italian marble, something that in current prices, would be next to impossible. It made for an almost overwhelming experience as we entered the door following Kevin's lead. We were all blown away by the beauty of the marble artwork. We continued to be impressed by the artwork around the church: the stained glass windows, the statues, the paintings, and more. It all reminded us about the importance of God in our lives and about the story of salvation history.
We saw artwork dedicated to individuals that you don't normally see reflected in churches. There were large paintings at the back of the church of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of our Blessed Mother. There was a statue of St. Elijah. (It should not have been a surprise really, since he is referred to as Father Elijah by the Carmelite, since he was taken to heaven at Mount Carmel, but again he is not common, so surprised us with his presence.) Other surprises for us that we saw during our visit were Abraham, Melchizedek, and St. Pius X, neither of which we expected to see.
Kevin took us around the church, explaining about the history of the altar, the significance of the stained glass windows, the re-construction that had been going on, the meaning of the two separate chapels, and more. One of the curious things that we saw, was the door that you see to the right. It appeared on a wall outside of the baptistery. It was a small door, but not something any of us had seen before. It turns out that behind the door was a fountain which allowed people to fill their containers will holy water. Kevin explained that it was broken, but that it used to be very popular. I quickly snapped a picture in order to be able to share it with you.
Below are some of the other pictures that I took to share with you.
Below are some of the other pictures that I took to share with you.