Donahoe's Magazine, Volume 15, No. 2, February 1886Various
History
Donahoe's Magazine, Volume 15, No. 2, February 1886
Various
Periodicals
From there we went to the refectory, which was capable of seating five
hundred pupils. Everything here was remarkable for neatness, solidity
and order. The dormitories, containing five hundred beds, were very
lofty and airy. I saw handsome crucifixes in conspicuous places here,
and holy pictures, also, all to remind the pupils of the spirit of
devotion which they owed to God and his saints. We noticed men washing
and ironing in the large laundry; no women were employed in the house.
Here were several grand marble swimming basins for the boys, with large
apparatuses for hot and cold water, splendid gymnasiums, forty or fifty
feet long by thirty wide, with pillars painted sky blue, and supporting
a magnificent ceiling. Swings, dumb-bells, Indian clubs and instruments
for raising weights were strewn all over the sawdust floors. We passed
by six court-yards adorned with statues, flowers, fountains and ponds
full of gold fish. I noticed in front of the church entrance a large and
splendid representation of the grotto of Lourdes made by one of the
Jesuit Fathers. Two noble palm-trees which grew near the grotto, added
greatly to its beauty. The exterior of the church was plain, but massive
in its appearance, and the interior with its handsome marble floor,
paintings, frescos and altars, formed a sight of no little interest to
the stranger. Soft vermillion, pink, rosy and violet reflections from
the stained glass windows filled the sacred edifice, and gave an
exquisite coloring to the superb old pictures. On the right, a grand and
costly crucifix looked down with life-like agony on the priests who were
vesting in the sacristy. Enormous chests lined the walls of several
rooms, and in those were stored gorgeous vestments, wonderfully
beautiful in color and material, and enriched with gold and precious
stones. Costly presents from kings and Spanish grandees were shown to me
by the brother sacristan, who took an honest pride in exhibiting those
blessed things. Magnificent society banners, used during processions on
great festivals, were subjects of intense interest to the good brother.
I saw lace albs there, with crotchet work marvellously executed by hand,
and adorned with brilliants. Each of these cost $1,500. The chapel of
St. Placidus, attached to the church is a perfect gem with its pillars
of white and gold. While in Havana, I had the pleasure of saying Mass in
the Jesuit Church. Other priests were celebrating at the same time, and
a magnificent congregation of men and women attended. The music was
exquisitely rendered, but I could not see how the people could continue
standing and kneeling so patiently all the time. In this, as in the rest
of the Cuban churches, there are but a few pews. The majority of the
people, who bring neither seats nor cushions with them, stand, kneel, or
sit on their heels at intervals. I do not think our Catholics in the
United States could muster up sufficient courage to endure all this.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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