Marble, Paintings, & Stained Glass Galore

Made another trip to Saint Mary of the Woods, this time with my niece.  She needed to take some photos for her 4-H project.

 On this visit, we wandered the cemetery, the Shell Chapel, the bronze statues,... we even wandered the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

 That was a sight all it's own.

 The cornerstones of the church were laid in 1886.  It was set out in an Italian Renaissance style with paintings on the ceilings, stained glass windows, and marble columns.
Ascension of Our Lord
The paintings were done by Thaddeus von Zukotynski from Poland (and graduate of the Academy of Arts in Munich).  Located on the ceiling at the intersection of the nave and transept is a painting of the Ascension of Our Lord.  A fresco in the semi-dome above the sanctuary portrays the Immaculate Conception and the four evangelists.  Two other paintings located on the north and south of the transept area are of the Return from Calvary and the Flight into Egypt.
Immaculate Conception and the 4 Evangelists
There are various types of marble in the church.  From the Carrara marble of the statues and the sanctuary appointments, walls of the vestibule and the holy water font, to the deep red Numidian marble of Africa found in the sanctuary walls. The altar railings are made of marble from the Greek island of Skyros.  The rose colored marble of the pillars and the balcony railings came from the state of Georgia.  The sanctuary floor, which was replaced at the time of renovation, is of maroon and black speckled terrazzo (flooring made of chips of marble, quartz, granite, and glass).  A tablet in front of the shrine of Saint Joseph tells of the numerous relics of saints have been enclosed under the floor.

The organ today is the third one installed since the church was completed.  It was made in Canada and installed in October 1953.  Hanging in the church tower is a set of 11 tuned bells with a weight of 13,150 pounds.  They chime on the quarter hour.

 There are numerous stained glass windows thru out the church. Many of which portray events of Christ and his mother Mary, as well as scenes from the Old Testament. The stained glass windows in the upper balcony display scenes of angels. They were made by the Bavarian Art Institute of Munich, Germany.

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