Rafael Guastavino (click on his name for further details) was the architect and builder of St. Lawrence. He came to Asheville, NC to work on the Vanderbilt estate, The Biltmore. This was his last work and his final resting place ... he is buried in a crypt inside this church.
The church is built upon a massive stone foundation, has no beams of wood or steel in the entire structure. All walls, floors, ceilings and pillars are of tile or other masonry materials. The roof is tile, covered with copper.
The dome of St. Lawrence has a span of 58 x 82 feet and has the reputation of being the largest freestanding dome in North America. To find out more, please click here. Below are photos of the interior.
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| The Altar |
This is a 17th century painting of the Visitation. The artist might be Massimo Stanzione (1585-1656). Few paintings depict an obviously pregnant Mary. I couldn't get the best photo because of the glare & I had to crop a bit.
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| Old pottery - Capo diMonte, Italy |
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| A fragment of Italian marble depicting the Nativity |
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| Baptismal Font |
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| Artist - Massimo Stanzione (1585-1656) |
The homily for this particular Sunday was wonderful. My girls & I discussed it over breakfast. To sum it up: Be generous to others with our compassion and love. How we will be judged will be a direct reflection as to how we judged others. We confess our sins, we don't stand in front of God with a list of what others have done. We don't know their story. We only know ours.
2 comments:
such wonderful words to live by, I love the mini history lesson, thankyou!
I didn't realize you were in NC!! My parents are outside of Raleigh and like to visit Asheville often :O) I went to ECU!! Oh, how I miss NC!!!
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