Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for faith-based tourism
Matisse’s Final Masterpiece
By Linda Tancs
The Rosary Chapel (also known as the Matisse Chapel) in Vence, France, is the final masterpiece of French artist Henri Matisse. His involvement arose out of a friendship with his private nurse who later became a Dominican nun. The nuns were in need of a true chapel, and Matisse was persuaded to not only decorate but also design the entire chapel. Completed in 1951, he designed features like the candelabras, crucifix, altar and liturgical vestments. The Matisse Museum in Nice has important works linked with the chapel, including several maquettes (models or sketches) for vestments, the chapel, stained glass windows and murals.
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Watching Over the White House
By Linda Tancs
Located across from the White House, St. John’s Church at Lafayette Square has welcomed every U.S. president to worship in its sanctuary beginning with James Madison. A National Historic Landmark, it features a bell tower with a bell cast by the son of Paul Revere. Consecrated in 1816, it has borne witness to many events in American history, such as the first State Funeral for President William Henry Harrison, the signing of the Webster–Ashburton Treaty and the baptism of former First Lady Dolley Madison. Tours take place after the last Sunday service, free of charge.
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The Ulysses Riviera
By Linda Tancs
Named for its mythological origins, Italy’s Ulysses Riviera is a coastline running from San Felice Circeo to Minturno that’s known for its natural beauty and archaeological sites. One of its beautiful seaside towns is Gaeta, which dates to Imperial Rome. Not surprisingly, it boasts a protected area with Roman ruins, which is set within Monte Orlando Park. Its most stunning attraction is arguably the Sanctuary of the Split Mountain—an 11th-century Benedictine monastery built into the cliffs and grottoes of the park. Its appearance today reflects renovations dating to the 17th century that incorporate Neapolitan and Spanish baroque styles. Popes, kings, bishops and saints have been counted among its visitors. You can reach the sanctuary from the city center of Gaeta going through Via Munazio Planco and following the indications along the road.
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A Norman Masterpiece in Sicily
By Linda Tancs
Built between 1170 and 1189, the Norman cathedral in Monreale is one of Sicily’s key attractions. Among its treasures are the 12th-century Byzantine mosaics, estimated to have been made with nearly 5,000 pounds of gold. They depict scenes from both the Old Testament and New Testament as well as the lives of saints. King William II of Sicily (William the Good) lived just long enough to see the completion of his commissioned church. He’s the last of the Norman kings to be buried there. Monreale is a few miles from the center of Palermo; there’s regular bus service from Piazza Indipendenza.
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Cave Churches in Türkiye
By Linda Tancs
A highlight of any Cappadocian itinerary in Türkiye is Göreme Open Air Museum, a treasure trove of ancient cave churches. A brief walk from Göreme’s village center, the UNESCO World Heritage Site boasts a cluster of rock-cut churches with stunning frescoes. The most famous of them (commanding a separate entrance fee) is Dark Church, so named because it received little light through a small window in the narthex. As a result, its frescoes are vibrant and well preserved and include scenes such as the Annunciation, Journey to Bethlehem, Nativity, Baptism, Raising of Lazarus, Transfiguration, Entry into Jerusalem, Last Supper, Betrayal of Judas and the Crucifixion. Buckle Church, the oldest of the cave churches, is located outside of the open-air museum complex but does not require a fee.
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Autumn in Gougane Barra
By Linda Tancs
Gougane Barra is a scenic valley and forest park in the Shehy Mountains of County Cork, Ireland. There’s a tiny island at the edge of the lake at the entrance to the forest park where Saint Finbarr, the patron saint of Cork, founded his early Christian monastery in the 6th century. You’ll find a network of trails that wind through the woods and around the lake, one of many things to enjoy while the foliage undergoes its autumn transition. September 25 is the saint’s feast day; the closest Sunday is known in Cork as Gougane Sunday, when a steady stream of pilgrims gather at the saint’s hermitage.
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A Presidential Church in Rhode Island
By Linda Tancs
St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church is the first Catholic church in Rhode Island, but it’s perhaps better known as the venue where Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was married to then-Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy (later the 35th president of the United States). The Newport church is now open to the public Monday through Friday, year-round, in addition to regularly scheduled Mass times. Tourists flock there to see the site of the famous wedding along with the kneelers used during their nuptials. When in town, the couple sat in pew #10. Arguably one of the most stunning churches in New England, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
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A Gem of a Church in Minnesota
By Linda Tancs
The practice of using vertical posts, or staves, to construct massive wooden buildings is what sets stave churches apart from the others. Stave churches were built in and around Scandinavia from the waning years of the Viking Age (the 11th and 12th centuries) to the early 16th century. One of the oldest- remaining stave churches in Norway is Hopperstad in Vik, built in 1130. You’ll find a full-scale replica of it in Moorhead, Minnesota, located along the boundary with Fargo, North Dakota. A symbol of Norwegian heritage so prevalent in the Red River Valley, the Moorhead Stave Church offers guided tours from April to December.
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A Chapel of Ease in New York City
By Linda Tancs
Built in 1766, St. Paul’s Chapel, located at Broadway and Fulton Street, is part of the Parish of Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City. It was known as a “chapel-of-ease” for those who did not want to walk a few blocks south along unpaved streets to Trinity Church. Its famous worshippers include George Washington, who made his way there after taking the oath of office to become the first president of the United States. His pew remains in the church.
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Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045.
Be prepared! So long as supplies last, you can purchase eclipse glasses and other accessories, like a phone app and photo filter, from American Paper Optics, a NASA-approved manufacturer. The link in the preceding sentence is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on the link and purchase merchandise from the page, then I may receive a small commission.
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The Cross in the Woods
By Linda Tancs
Located in Indian River, Michigan, the National Shrine of the Cross in the Woods is arguably the state’s best-known religious monument. Featuring a sculpture of Christ on a cross, the bronze monument was cast in Norway. Twenty-eight feet tall from head to toe with outstretched arms spanning 21 feet, it weighs 7 tons. What you might not know about the site is that it also boasts the largest collection of dolls dressed in traditional habits of men and women religious communities in the United States. The collection of 525 dolls and 20 mannequins represent diocesan clergy and more than 217 religious orders of priests, sisters and brothers of North and South America.
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