Ur Faith Is Vain
Date: 1/26/2009
From:
zgar 
Aww... then why is Jesus Risen from the dead?
This picture, taken from the sanctuary of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, in St. Louis MO, depicts the scene of Christ's Resurrection. Of course, you wouldn't know that if you were the priest!
You have to looking from the opposite direction to see the words "If Christ is not risen... your faith is vain."
A lot of Seminarians and priests who have served at the Cathedral have fond memories of this mosaic; surprisingly, it's one of the only duds out of the thousands scattered throughout the 'New Cathedral' (as it's known by locals).
imagine the priest has a "moment" during the consecration after seeing this shocking obscured message...
perhaps the artist was hoping to see some Eucharistic miracles in this cathedral?
most of the church can't even see the "if" that starts it off, so it becomes "Christ is not risen, your faith is vain." Mosaic fail indeed.
This is brilliant! I've often wondered about the word choice on this mosaic.
What is up with that one creepy skull image near the sanctuary? From the stories I have heard, it's been giving altar boys and choir members the heebie-jeebies for decades.
@ Sarah - don't worry, we'll be treating other 'interesting' parts of the New Cathedral as time goes on... the skull is one of these.
this image is funny, however I was amazed at the beauty of the the Cathedral! Twas amazing!! (I just looked it up online) The amount of time it would have taken to create the mosaics is mind blowing. A great statement of faith!!
I was a tour guide at the New Cathedral while in college. The story passed down to me is that the artist disliked the result so much (for the reason shown above and other errors) that she asked for the mosaic to be pulled down and be redone. She was told no because of the cost involved but given the chance to redeem herself with the decoration of the west trancept. That one is much better.
@ Nick - Quite true! The west transept is much, much nicer than the East. It's still a little 'bright' for my taste, but it is very beautiful in it's own right. Maybe someday the East and West will work together, like two lungs to the great Cathedral (as with the universal Church!).