Cathedral Walking Tour ~ Part One

In the Historic District of the North End where I live, there are 

several grand cathedrals.  There are two of them just blocks from my

cottage and I pass by them each day.  The first one is St John's Cathedral.

 St John's is Boise's Catholic Cathedral and it is a beauty.  

Construction began in 1906 by Tourtellotte and Hummell, Boise's famous

architectural firm.  The construction was so costly that it was built in 

stages and was not fully completed until 1921.

The style is Romanesque and was the vision of Bishop

Alphonse Glorieux.  What a beautiful name!

I am not a Catholic, so I do not attend services here.  I have however,

attended two funerals at this beautiful cathedral and it is quite spectacular.

This is my church, Saint Michael's Episcopal Cathedral.  While not as

grand as St John's, it too is a lovely cathedral.  It is a charming gothic

style and is reminiscent of churches in England.  I know every inch of it's 

interior because I served on the Alter Guild for two years.  And yes,

twice a year we used Murphy's Oil Soap to clean the pews just like

the old commercial suggested.

Here is the front entrance.  It is simple, understated and lovely.

The stone for this cathedral was quarried from the Table Rock

Quarry.  Table Rock overlooks the city of Boise and is also the

current home of a huge lighted cross that overlooks our city.

This is Bishop Tuttle House.  This is a lovely gothic style fellowship hall

behind the cathedral.  

This fountain in the Bishop Tuttle House courtyard is where the animals

are blessed each St. Francis Day.

St. Michael's took possession of this Ten Commandments monument after

controversy caused it to be removed from Julia Davis Park.  We gave it

a home because we believe and follow the Ten Commandments.

I am very proud of the efforts of the past and current members of this 

cathedral.  After it's dedication in 1902, Bishop Funsten opened St. Luke's

Hospital a few blocks away.  It only had six beds, but the women's auxillary

dedicated themselves to it's growth by raising funds for supplies by holding

annual balls. These women also supported the hospital by making bandages

and dressings to be used for surgery.  One must remember that Idaho only

became a state in 1890 and the area did not have many facilities, so

these efforts were crucial to this growing but oh so isolated region of the 

northwest.

This is the side entrance to the cathedral.  On weekdays whenever the

cathedral is open, I often stop in for silent prayer.

I hope you enjoy this video about the history of my home church.

I don't talk very often about my faith on this blog, but it is a the guiding

light of my life.

I am joining

Seasonal Sundays

Sunny Simple Sundays

Bentley ~ Momma will take you to St Michael's to be 

blessed this fall.  You will see lot's of friends there.

Hugs,

Susan and Bentley