A Hearth of Devotion to Our Blessed Mother
Catholics throughout the Diocese of Syracuse are joined to their brothers and sisters in faith throughout the universal Church in their understanding that the pilgrimage of faith on which the Blessed Mother advanced is a model for each of us.
As people enter the Cathedral, a basic theme links the magnificent architecture and artistry into a singular narrative that may be generalized as to Christ through Mary.
Beginning on the Gospel side of the sanctuary and flowing along each side bay of the Cathedral, exhortations to our Blessed Mother, as contained in the Litany of Loretto, appear on a shield held by angels.
Above the sanctuary are five magnificent stained glass windows which chronicle our Blessed Mother’s journey in faith with our Lord. Beginning with a depiction of the Annunciation, the windows chronicle Mary’s journey with Christ through the Nativity, Passion and Resurrection. The central window depicts the Immaculate Conception, celebrating the fullness of the holy innocence and sanctity of the Mother of God.
Embedded in the main altar are the relics of St. Catherine Laboure and St. Bernadette Soubirous, both of whom were blessed to have experienced visions of our Blessed Mother.
“It bears the title of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother, who thus becomes the defender of our spiritual interests, the advocate with Christ for all that concerns our salvation.”
—Thomas James Conaty, Bishop of the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles, September 25, 1910
On close observation one will notice that there is a basic theme running through the ornamentations that may be generalized as “To Christ Through Mary.”
-Deprato Library of Ecclesiastical Art, 1959