This is definitely one place not to miss. It is lovely, every year when we visit we pray for the True Mass to be returned to the altar of OLV.
Fortunately there has not been too much remodeling done on the great basilica
of Our Lady of Victory. I was privileged to be on a tour bus with John Vennari
leading the way, and one stop was OLV in Lacawanna, NY. He briefed us on
the road in advance giving us some background facts, which was very helpful,
for, as he had explained, once we arrived there was not enough time to see
everything.
The building is marvelous from outside to inside, but especially the altar.
The stations of the cross are 1.2 life scale (as I recall) which means they are
literally "larger than life." They are all from Italy, hand carved out of solid
marble, and polished like Michelangelo's Pieta. The favorite one is number
4, when Our Lady meets her Son on the Way of the Cross. Fr. Baker used
to spend any "free" time he had there (which wasn't much!) praying and just
meditating on that one statue. When you see it, you should look at it from
different angles BEFORE you find any pictures of him looking at it. You will
find that he was wont to sit at the most effective point of view when he
spent that time there.
Fr. Baker was a business man before he became pastor, and he shocked the
local bishop when he informed him upon completion of the basilica that it
was already paid for. This is perhaps the only major church in America that
was never in debt. I could be wrong about that.
There are more angels in this church than anyone has ever been able to count.
There have been estimates, something like 12,000, but over the years, they
keep finding more angels hidden in curious places. There are small statues
hidden out of view from common areas, as if they are there only where the
angels themselves would ever go. Even from the outside, angels are all over
the building, on the walls and on the roof.
The main altar (there are side altars, too --- so far! ---) has a huge statue
of Our Lady of Victory carved in Italy by hand of solid Carrara white marble
and it is utterly breathtaking. There is no angle from which its impressiveness
is obscured. She holds the child Jesus in her arms. There are, as I remember,
5 crucifixes on the main altar, all in a line from top to bottom centered on
the tabernacle. They are of different sizes and importance. You would never
know to look for that if you were not told in advance, as we were on the bus!!
There are beautiful images of the apostles on the ceiling of the dome above
the sanctuary, but you'll need binoculars to get a really good look at them,
for they are over 100 feet above the floor.
There is a very curious grotto that imitates that of Lourdes, France around the
corner of the left transcept. As I recall this is the location of Fr. Baker's tomb.
He had a conspicuous devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. The shrine is made
with volcanic rock, as I recall, basalt. It is reddish-brown. I say it is "curious"
because it is such a different style from all the rest of the basilica.
There are two important features that all basilicas have, one is the umbrella
that is suspended over the special throne intended only for the pope, if he
should ever come to visit. Strangely, JPII passed not far away on two
different occasions and did not bother to stop in. I refrain from speculating
why. This umbrella is always partially open, anticipating being ready for the
pope whenever he decides to visit, but no pope has ever done so. Maybe
when we have a truly good pope, he will come? I forgot the name of the
umbrella, sorry.
The other thing is the tintinabulum, which is a special golden bell that stands
suspended on a special framework, and is only rung during the procession
of the approach of the visiting supreme pontiff. So the bell has never been
rung either. Kind of sad, actually.
The most up-close and personal angels are the nearly life-sized statues holding
oyster-shell holy water bowls near each of the entrances. You get the feeling
that the angel is at your service as you dip your fingers in the water.
The people who go to this special place as their parish are very fortunate to
have such a marvelous building, but they are ironically deprived for not having
the Traditional Canonized Latin Mass.
I typed this from memory so there could be some mistakes. It was 14 years
ago when I went there. If I'm ever nearby again, I wouldn't miss it.
Topic: Father Baker (Read 1450 times)