ST. PETER'S BOTE

From times immemorial it has been the custom of man to beautify and decorate places of worship. In the Old Testament we read of the great care and pains exerted toward keeping the Ark of the Covenant in a polished and elegant state. We are amazed at the unheard of riches amassed by Solomon for the purpose of erecting the grand temple of Jerusalem. Gold, precious stones and costly woods were gathered from all parts of the then known world; innumerable vessels and statues were cast from the finest gold and set with priceless jewels; immense figures were hewn by skilled chisels from the rarest marble and expensive wood. If, then, all this was done by worshippers in the Old Testament when they had in their temples only symbols and prototypes of the real Presence, how much more does it become our Catholic churches of the New Testament instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, to be most splendidly adorned and enriched by works of art. Shall we who have the sublime privilege of the Divine Presence within our midst, suffer ourselves in our want of the spirit of sacrifice and fervor, to be outstripped and put to shame by the worshippers of the Old Testament, who had but signs and symbols of the Reality which we have the lofty privilege of beholding and adoring truly present in the Blessed Eucharist?

Not only in the Old Testament, but also and even more so in the New Testament have worshippers erected monumental works of art at places of worship. Holy Mother Church and the faithful in general have expended millions upon millions in the erection, adorning and beautifying of the house of God and shrines of devotion. In England, Germany, France, Rome--in all the lands in which the Faith had gained an early foothold, there stand to this day to proclaim from generation to generation the Faith that inspired their execution -- monuments and works of art that have been built centuries, aye, a decade of centuries ago.

It is hardly necessary here, nor is it within the scope of the present sketch to enter into a long discourse on the object and usefulness of works of art in general, much less should it be necessary concerning those that adorn the house of God. We know that every true work of art is and must be beautiful. It calls forth and awakens within us the nobler sentiments of the soul and tends to stir up devotion when other means remain unfruitful. When everything about one bespeaks devotion and an attitude of prayer, one is naturally carried along, mind and heart, to thoughts and desired above. We enter church to witness the holy Sacrifice and to pray in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. When one’s gaze, therefore, cannot meet an object of distraction, but is forced, no matter to what direction it tends, to look upon images of venerated objects and persons, one can hardly refrain from being engrossed in pious sentiments, and prayer, the elevation of the mind and heart to God, flows from the soul as the natural result.

A work of art produces also a happy effect on one’s disposition. As stated above, the soul is thereby roused to the noble and virtuous, and hence it is naturally kindly disposed, happy and pleased. Persons who cannot appreciate and have no taste for the beautiful and artistic are to be pitied -- they are dead to half around them. A taste and appreciation of the beautiful can and should be cultivated; aesthetics constitute, furthermore, a necessary branch of a liberal education, by which is understood a thorough training and development of the faculties of the soul, the mind and the body.

Besides pleasing us and arousing us to the noble and virtuous, paintings, decorations and artistic designs in our churches are intended, above all, to beautify the house of God. They serve as an outward expression of our adoration, love and esteem of the Most High. We venerate, likewise, the angels and Saints by making beautiful representations of them to adorn the dwelling of Him Who is their joy and reward in heaven. Nothing is too good for the house of God. Just as a soul and heart in which our Divine Savior is to take up His abode must be beautiful and without stain, so every church in which the holy Sacrifice is offered ought to be beautiful and spotless as human means can make it.

It is the task of the artist or critic of aesthetics to describe fittingly works of art and to estimate their worth and value as such. We realize that for want of taste and feeling we hardly know and understand how to appreciate to their full value the beautiful paintings of St. Peter’s church, as works of art, but can only admire in a wonder approaching awe, a work so beautiful, so true to nature.

We shall first consider the sanctuary. At first glance we notice two divisions: the upper part of heaven, and the lower part, which presents to the eye the Saints as the representatives of the Church on earth.

In heaven: In the center of the sanctuary is the Lamb of God. A little below (from left to right) God the Father, the Holy Ghost (in the form of a dove) God the Son to the right. At the extreme left, St. John the Baptist and at the extreme right, St. Joseph. Below the dove that represents the Holy Ghost, Who with wings extended, sheds His rays upon her, is painted the beautiful Immaculate Conception. At the feet of the Immaculate Conception, to the left, is an Angel with a lily, the emblem of innocence; to the right, and Angel offering the crown to the Queen of heaven. Below these are the four Evangelists, two to the left, two to the right. Right and left of the Evangelists are Angel musicians.

Having noted the respective positions of the various pictures in the heaven, our eye rests on the image of St. Peter, with a background of gold and blue, as the most distinct in the lower division. St. Peter, the patron of the church, is represented as seated on a throne of clouds. He extends his right hand in benediction while in his left he holds the keys of heaven. This picture signifies: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church.... I will give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven....” (Matth. XIV, 18, 19). Slightly beneath, to the right and to the left are a few of the more distinguished representatives of the Benedictine Order, St. Benedict, St. Scholastica, Sts. Maurus, Placid, St. Gregory the Great and St. Anselm. Besides Sts. Gregory and Anselm there are also represented St. Augustine, St. Ambrose and St. Jerome as Fathers of the Church. St. Bruno, the founder of the Carthusians, also holds a significant place. To the right and to the left of this immense center group are large groups enclosed and surrounded by exquisite Roman architecture. These groups, eight in number, of six to eight figures in each group, show forth the Church’s

The ceiling of the middle nave in the body of the church is laid out in three panels in Romanesque style. The center panel is in the shape of a cross and the center picture is the Sacred Heart. The first panel towards the sanctuary measures 12 by 16 ft. and represents the Annunciation. The panel towards the back of the church measures the same as the Annunciation and represents the Ascension of our Lord. The remainder of the ceiling is laid out in symmetrical moldings and golden ornamentations. The side walls of the middle nave are also of purely Roman architectural work. Above the pillars are paintings of the Apostles, the background of which is in gold leaf. Around the pictures there is architectural painting of exquisite beauty. The arches between the pillars are trimmed with pretty borders and golden ornamentations in gold and brown.

The side naves are laid out in five panels on either side. in the center of each panel is a painting representing an emblem of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin. The outer side walls are in buff color

and made to match elegantly with the stations in color and architectural design. They are of simple composition, thus allowing the stations of the cross, so rich in expression, to stand out conspicuously, and are bordered at the top and bottom.

Above each confessional is a painting 6 by 10 ft., one representing the crucifixion, the other Christ in his agony, in the Garden of Olives. Above the main entrance of the church is a lovely painting of the Good Shepherd extracting a sheep from a bush of thorns.

We have now a general idea of the interior of the church and can dilate upon its unique beauty as a whole and upon one or the other painting in particular. The groupings, which form a semicircle about the sanctuary, are excellent. Groupings in themselves are a test and a trial to the artist’s skill. Masters often complain of the difficulty of producing with their brush a perfect group of figures, beautiful and true to nature. The popes are represented with their tiara, bishops and abbots with the mitre and crozier, peasants in the peasant’s garb with their instruments of trade, virgins with lilies of innocence, martyrs with the palm of victory or the instruments of torture that won for them the crown of beatific immortality.

The outstanding features of the paintings and decorative work are, in the first place, the wonderfully pleasant blending of the most beautiful and brilliant colours; in the second place, the truthful representation of the figures. The exposition of every detail is perfect. The features of the figures are so pronounced, natural and scientific as to betray at a glance the nationality of the various Saints represented, so that, in a grouped painting representing persons of four or five nationalities, one can easily distinguish the nationality of each. In the features, e.g. of St. Chrysostom and St. Basil we immediately perceive that they are Greeks; St. Mauritius is at once known as an African, and above all, the Blessed Virgin as a Jewess.

The painting above the first pillar on the epistle side is a picture representing the great apostle of the gentiles, St. Paul. This picture, the first on Mr. Imhoff painted after good Abbot Bruno’s death and demise, is really attractive and a genuine masterpiece of art. The effect is most happy. In the picture of St. Joseph (extreme right in the upper division of sanctuary) we have a rare representation of the Foster-father. He is here represented as a gray-haired man with full flowing locks, whereas his usual appearance is that of a semi-bald laborer with brownish locks descending hardly half-way to the shoulders. Which may be historically more correct is probably open to personal judgment.

In our mind the most striking and beautiful pictures are those representing the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Conception. The picture of Mary Immaculate is a most beautiful painting, and with the painting of St. Peter, undoubtedly occupies the most conspicuous place among all the paintings of the church. She is the picture of humility and purity. Enveloped in beautiful clouds, with head slightly bowed and eyes cast down, she stands upon the globe, crushing with her foot the revolting serpent. The facial expression of Mary is sweet beyond description. In depicting this face great art and skill are again exhibited: it is Jewish but at the same time exquisitely tender and beautiful. Around the figure of the Blessed Virgin stands the following Latin inscription in golden letters: TOTA PULCHRA ES, MARIA, ET MACULA NON EST IN TE (“Thou art all fair, O Mary, and there is not a spot in thee”) [Cant. of Canticles IV, 7.]

To a more than casual observer it is clear that the whole sanctuary represents the foundation of the Church; there are God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the Mother of God, the Foster-father of our Lord, the Precursor of the Redeemer, St. Peter and the Evangelists and later founders of religious orders.

The painting of the sanctuary is one grand and gorgeous production 28 ft. high, 58 ft. wide, and represents about eighty life-size figures. This superb grandeur, the princely and most bounteous gift of the artist, which was completed on the very day of the beloved Abbot Bruno’s death, to whose memory this masterpiece is dedicated, is extremely rich, the largest, and one of the very finest paintings ever executed by Mr. Imhoff.

These paintings afford ample opportunity of study for art’s sake. They are, furthermore, of great historical value and recall many an annal, story and legend. They excite to devotion, exercise a pleasing and happy influence on our disposition; they are a source of veneration to the Angels and Saints, and above all, they beautify the house of God.

Lay visitors, abbots and bishops have expressed their boundless admiration for these paintings, many testifying that they have never seen them excelled even in foreign lands. In the name of the community and the parish of St. Peter, we extend to Mr. Imhoff, who has spared no pains to make the interior of our church one of his very finest productions, our sincerest thanks and heartiest congratulations, asking of all who pray in the church a memento for him who by his noble work has inspired and assisted us in prayer. His skill and genius have aroused our unbounded admiration; his unspeakable kindness and generosity have move us to warm-hearted and deepest gratitude; his deep-rooted piety and religious turn of mind as betrayed in his graceful productions, have won our high regard, esteem and affection.