Gothic Design
by Maria Coulson
Title
Gothic Design
Artist
Maria Coulson
Medium
Photograph
Description
The first Saint Mary's was built in the early 1860s, not far from the present sanctuary, but it wasn't until Father Patrick Manogue arrived that the church became a fixture in serving the thousands of Welsh and Irish Catholic miners who worked the Comstock Lode. Manogue was no stranger to mining. A native of County Kilkenney, Ireland, he traveled to California in 1854 to find his fortune in the Gold Rush.The third Saint Mary's church erected at the church's present location, was built from approximately 350,000 bricks that were manufactured by the Kerrin & Company factory of Virginia City. The cornerstone was laid on August 18, 1868 in a grand ceremony led by Bishop Eugene O'Connell of Grass Valley and Manogue. A new bell would chime from the steeple, which, according to local newspapers, was the largest in the West between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Missouri River. Weighing over a ton, with a 100-pound clapper, it was rung at 6 a.m. on October 23, 1870, announcing the day the first Mass was to be celebrated. Manogue officiated before an elaborate altar imported from France. More than two stories tall and weighing 6,700 pounds, it was decorated with the 12 apostles and embellished in the Gothic style. The High Mass was surrounded by pomp and ceremony, including the Emmet Guard, an Irish military company.
Proceeds from the sale of this photograph goes to help orphaned and abandoned children in Colombia South America.
Uploaded
March 29th, 2014
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