A Tour of Churches

I've noticed that a majority of my pictures are from my visits to churches and religious sites - not surprising if you know me.  I kind of like the idea of turning this trip into a multi-site pilgrimage.  First, I went to the Cathedral in Galway.

Gorgeous stone interior.

And the arches!  The arches!  I loved it.

A little prayer to St. Joseph for vocations... okay, mostly my own.

I went to Galway on Thursday, the day before the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.  Here's the window of St. Peter receiving the keys from Christ.

I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity for Eucharistic Adoration, but I was also really intrigued by the flame-like sculpture behind the tabernacle. It's made of a reflective metal and lit from beneath.  Very interesting.

Moving forward to a sneak peek of Kylemore Abbey... more on the history of that place later.  All you need to know for now is that there's a gothic-style chapel on the grounds.

Stained glass above the tabernacle in the southern alcove - the virtues from left to right are: Fortitude, Faith, Charity, Hope, and Chastity.

Elsewhere on the grounds, there is a small grotto built for the Virgin Mary, modeled after the grotto at Lourdes.

This statue is (I think) a smaller version of the Sacred Heart statue at the top of the hill/cliff/mountain above the Abbey.  It was required to book a hiking guide a day in advance to reach the big statue, so no mountain climbing for me.

And finally Dublin.  I arrived by bus back in Dublin on a Sunday, and I had made sure that there was an evening mass at the cathedral ahead of time.  Finding the cathedral was... a bit of an experience, and unfortunately, it appears to be in a rougher part of the city (just north of Trinity college across the River Liffey).  At least, the whole building was surrounded by an iron fence, which was only open about 45 min before mass.  It's quite smashed in between the surrounding buildings.  And the architecture is more reminiscent of a Greek or Roman temple, rather than a Catholic cathedral.  Still, it was a huge relief and blessing to be connected to the universal church in the celebration of the mass - I didn't care where I was, so long as I was at mass!

The next day while wandering around Dublin, I quite literally stumbled upon a beautiful church off of Grafton Street, Clarendon Street (St. Teresa's) Church.  I was in time for daily mass!  Oh, what a joy to return to a place of rest after a very full day.  My pictures don't quite do the place justice, though I do love the Carmelite statue of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child.

The tour of churches will continue, no doubt!  They may be a bit harder to find in London, but that certainly won't stop an urban pilgrim like me.