We now turn around and look straight down the nave towards the sanctuary. This view encompasses less than a third of this vast auditorium. The engineer in me asks what holds the roof up! In spite of its large, modern, airy nature, the Nave still retains the traditional East-West gable. We observe the Eastern ‘rose’ window, below which is the Resurrection Tapestry. In front of this stands the cathedra and the high altar.
22. EAST WINDOW
The two round windows are made from paintings by the artist Robert Juniper. This window depicts two dancing brolgas, and is said to symbolize ‘Trust in God’.
23. NORTH NAVE I
Anyone entering the nave is impressed by the sheer size of the space, and also by the 14 large and colourful windows along the North and South walls. These depict scenes from the Bible, and were painted by Australian artist Robert Juniper. Unfortunately, strong sunlight streaming through the North windows makes the nave very light, but also tends to wash out the brilliant colour of the windows. We come back to look at these a little later. Notice the (second) seven stations of the Cross along the wall at left.
24. NORTH NAVE II
Continuing our overview of the windows ... the North East corner. The seven windows on the North wall show scenes from the Old Testament of the Bible. The original paintings were photographed with a digital camera, enlarged, and laminated between two sheets of glass. The process is called ‘digiglass’ and is named after the Melbourne company which invented it. In the North East corner of the Cathedral we find the entrance to the bell tower, and the Lady Chapel – very modern, but traditionally placed ...
25. SOUTH NAVE
This view of the South wall of the nave shows the windows in their full glory. The seven Southern windows depict images from the New Testament. We can see here from the left: • The visit of the Wise Men • The Baptism of Jesus • Jesus proclaims the Kingdom of Heaven • The Last Supper. Notice the first seven stations of the Cross on the wall at right.
26. STATION IV
We now begin a closer inspection of some of the details of this wonderful Cathedral, moving in a clockwise direction, and beginning with the stations of the Cross. These depict the journey of Jesus to his death on the Cross. Having them on display in the Cathedral helps the faithful make a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer through meditating upon the chief scenes of Christ’s suffering. Station IV depicts Jesus meeting with His Mother.
27. STATION IX
Station IX shows Jesus falling for the third time. These stations of the Cross were taken from St Mary’s Church in South Bunbury when it was closed.
28. CREATION WINDOW
The first (left) window of the North wall is the Creation Window. It depicts the creation of the world: ‘God saw all he had made, and indeed it was good’. Genesis 1:31
29. NOAH WINDOW
We might call this third window the Noah Window. It shows the ark beached after the flood, and God’s rainbow shining brightly. It reminds us of God’s Covenant with humanity through Noah. ‘Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind.’ Genesis 9:16
30. ABRAHAM WINDOW
The fourth window is the Abraham Window. It reminds us of God’s Covenant with Abraham – ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars -– if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be’. Genesis 15:5
31. MADONNA AND CHILD
In the North East corner, we leave the nave and move in to the Our Lady Chapel. The chapel is not ornate, and in design follows the neat horizontal and vertical lines of the nave. In the corner stands the Mary Help of Christians Statue, which was taken from St Mary’s Church in South Bunbury when it was closed.
32. LADY CHAPEL ICON
On the North wall of the chapel is an icon which was designed and painted especially for this Cathedral. It is of Mary with the Christ Child, surrounded by angels, and was painted by Marice Sariola. The statue and this icon together provide a simple contemplative focus for this devotional space. In fact St Patrick’s Cathedral as a whole is notable for the lack of accumulated (if much loved!) clutter which characterizes many cathedrals.
33. CATHEDRA
The bishop’s chair, or cathedra, is also situated in the sanctuary. It is a permanent fixture, but another chair is made available for priests or other ministers who celebrate in the Cathedral. This cathedra was salvaged from the old cathedral and restored.
34. COAT OF ARMS
Immediately above the cathedra is the Bishop’s Crest or Coat of Arms. Traditionally this consists of two halves: the left half being the crest of the Diocese, the right of the Bishop himself. The stylized Chi Rho symbol in red symbolizes Christ and His love. At left, in the diagonal black bar, the black represents constancy, the silver, peace and sincerity. The fleur des lis stand for Mary, the castle for security. On the lower right is the Holohan Crest. Bishop Holohan is the sixth Bishop of that name. The previous bishops served in Ross and Dromore-Ossory between 1157 and 1404. One became Archbishop of the Southern half of Ireland between 1158 and 1182.
35. RESURRECTION TAPESTRY
Above the cathedra is the Resurrection Tapestry. This is also based on a painting by Australian artist Robert Juniper, and was hand woven in Nepal. The image of Jesus is woven from gold silk, and the tapestry weighs approximately 80 kilograms. The tapestry depicts Jesus rising from the tomb, which can be seen in the bottom right hand corner. The tapestry is a powerful reminder for us of Christ’s victory over death.
36. BLESSED SACRAMENT CHAPEL
We pass from the sanctuary directly through to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel on the South side. Here we find the gold tabernacle which houses the consecrated hosts which are not needed during the mass. The tabernacle was salvaged from the old cathedral and restored. The icon above the tabernacle is titled ‘Supper at Emmaus’ and shows Jesus with St Cleopas and his fellow disciple (Luke 24:13-35). It was painted by Marice Sariola. In the floor at the front of the altar is the opening that is used to lower coffins into the crypt below the Cathedral. The crypt has 16 vaults in it, in which the bodies of bishops will be laid to rest. Bishop Quinn is currently the only bishop interred here, as of August 2011.
37. SANCTUARY LAMP
This red lamp is located in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, but can be seen in the nave through the glass walls. The sanctuary lamp signifies the presence of God in the tabernacle that contains the eucharist. This beautiful lamp was salvaged from the old cathedral and restored.
38. CHAPEL DOOR
This engraved coat of arms is in the glass by the entry to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. We discussed the colourful version above the cathedra earlier. The lower right hand half of the shield contains Bishop Holohan’s crest. The three annulets (or rings) symbolize faithfulness. The tower represents greatness. The griffins on either side represent vigilance. The crescents beneath the tower represent ‘hope of greater glory’. The motto underneath, ‘To love, to serve like Christ, replaces the traditional Holohan motto: ‘They conquer who conquer themselves’.
39. CHAPEL
This is a view of the South East corner of the nave. We see the Blessed Sacrament Chapel behind the Crucifix, and we can just see the light from the sanctuary lamp. The Resurrection Tapestry is just visible at left.
40. CRUCIFIX
The Crucifix makes present to us the sacrifice and death of Jesus on the Cross. This Crucifix was salvaged from the original cathedral and restored by the Art Department of Bunbury Catholic College in 2010. It hangs on the outer wall of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.