Do you remember me saying that in one of my previous articles that I would show you the inside of the Basilica? Chose dite, chose faite. As I say, I will do! You may be a Catholic, you may not be. I’m not going to judge anyone. You may even be a convinced, and militant atheist. I am going to present a building to you that was designed by men for the glory of God. Everything in it was made to centre on God and the presence of God in the Tabernacle.

Even though you might not share those beliefs, a church is not an ordinary building. It is not just a place. There is something special, as there is in any place of worship. We see the hopes and wishes of men being handed over to something that is a power beyond them. These are the prayers represented by the candles in the Catholic tradition, and the statues to remind us of the piety of certain saints and the symbolism that is included in the representation in those statues. The same is true in the artwork. It is what it represents to the faithful. The stations of the cross which retell the story of Jesus’ final sacrifice here on earth, and the sacrifice of the mass.

It is a place of contemplation. So let’s contemplate…