Sunday Mass in Seattle

We started our first day in Seattle with a Sunday Mass at the Saint James Cathedral, the oldest church in Seattle that was built in honour of their patron saint, Saint James the Greater. Located in the city’s First Hill neighbourhood, it is considered the mother church of the Archdiocese of Seattle and the Seat of its Archbishop.

After a quick breakfast of cereal, milk, eggs, and coffee, we headed to Ninth Avenue. We were fortunate to find parking at the back lot of a church. Call it perfect timing because as we came in, we spotted a couple heading back to their car and they signaled to us that they were leaving.

The imposing façade of the cathedral is built in the Italian Renaissance style. It is characterized by its twin towers;  a ceremonial bronze door with the most beautiful Biblical sculptures; a tympanum featuring Jesus as the Lamb of God; huge stained-glass windows; a black and gilt window on the western entrance depicting Christ as he reaches out in blessing; and statues of Saint James, Saint John Vianney (patron saint of priests), and Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (also known as Mother Cabrini), the first American citizen to be canonized as saint.

My cousin and her family, who arrived a few minutes early, texted us their location and saved us seats, so we were able to find them easily despite the huge crowd. We were just in time for the beginning of the Mass.

As befits a cathedral, the celebration was a concelebrated High Mass supported by a big choir that led the singing of all the responses and prayers. They sang like angels and I felt truly blessed to have had this opportunity to attend Mass there.

The interior of the cathedral is equally as imposing as its façade. It has a cruciform layout with exceptionally wide and deep transepts. A unique feature is the altar located at the centre of the assembly. I later learned that this was a product of a renovation made in 1994 in accordance with the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

There is a circular skylight directly above the altar which gives it an ethereal glow. I also later learned that a central dome was originally built but it violently crashed into the floor in 1916 under the weight of snow. Fortunately, no one was in the nave at that time, and nobody was hurt. As a result, the builders replaced the dome with a flat roof instead.

The relics of Mother Cabrini are enshrined beneath the altar. Mother Cabrini was an Italian-born immigrant who ministered among the sick and impoverished in Seattle during her time and often went to this church to worship.

Various artistic treasures are also housed within this cathedral – the sculptured pulpit, the mosaic floor in the west vestibule, the baptismal font surrounded by a pool whose quatrefoil shape mimics that of the cathedral, an organ from the 1600s, and the magnificent stained-glass art from its windows. Lining the walls are many beautiful statues of the Virgin Mary and other saints, as well as marble tablets honouring notable pastors and parishioners.

After the Mass, we prayed and lit candles under the status of Saint Joseph, the patron saint of many men in my family that were named after him (my husband, my son, my brother, my father-in-law, my paternal grandfather, and a few cousins).

Along the north wall of the building was a small shrine dedicated to Saint John XXIII, the Pope who called the Second Vatican Council. A small sign said that this is the only church in the United States that has a shrine for the said saint and that it was actually dedicated in 2012, when he had been beatified, but not yet canonized.

My favourite spot though is the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary which was dimly lit but decorated with numerous flickering candles along its walls. The chapel was designed to evoke the warm and loving darkness of the womb, as Mary is considered our Blessed Mother. Likewise, the illuminated ceiling replicates the stars in heaven as seen in Seattle’s night sky on the day of the cathedral’s dedication.

There is a small chapel adjacent to the cathedral. It is home to the shrine’s most prized art work – an altarpiece painting called, Virgin and Child with Six Saints, dating back to 1471 and done by a Florentine artist. It represents the Madonna and Child surrounded by six saints including St. Luke, the physician (with an ox), St. Bartholomew (with the knife used to flay him), St. Lawrence, the Deacon (with the grill on which he was martyred and a palm signifying a martyr’s victory), St. John the Baptist (who, in the painting, is depicted proclaiming “Ecce Agnus Dei,” “Behold the Lamb of God”), St. Martin, 4th century Bishop of Tours, and St. Sebastian, Roman martyr put to death by arrows.

As typical of Renaissance art, it focuses on the subject called sacra conversazione (sacred conversation), in which Jesus and Mary are imagined to be in conversation with various saints from different timelines.

Outside the church, there was a small Sunday bazaar going on, so we checked them out. I bought a religious novel penned by a local author, while my husband got some rosaries for his family. Aside from the temporary bazaar, there was also a bookstore and gift shop. We went inside and chatted for a bit with the storekeeper who was excited to learn that we were from Eastern Canada. He was planning to visit some relatives in Toronto in a few weeks and it was going to be his first time in the East Coast.

The atmosphere there was so lively as the parishioners milled about and socialized. It seemed to be a very dynamic and tightly knit community with members actively involved in each other’s lives and the business of running their parish. They also welcomed us, new faces, and made us feel at home.

Spiritually satiated, we bid goodbye to our newfound acquaintances and headed to the city centre to explore.