Pittsburgh Pictures

(Click to enlarge)

Here is a bad picture of the inside of St. Paul Cathedral -

And one of the outside:

And a statue of St. Joan of Arc in a back chapel:




Here is a picture from the Romanian room in the Cathedral of Learning -



The mosaic is of Constantin Brâncoveanu, Prince of Wallachia, who refused to recant the Christian faith and lost his own life and the lives of the male members of his family. Can you imagine having class here? The chairs are all hand carved - that beats cheap manufactured ones with gum stuck to the bottom.

And finally, this picture shows the brand new tire I bought at Firestone in Pittsburgh which lasted exactly 76 miles on the Pennsylvania Turnpike -

Pittsburgh

My nephew had his First Communion this past weekend so I got to visit with family in Pittsburgh. Besides playing Wii with nieces and nephews I also got to see St. Paul Cathedral, which is beautiful. If you ever go to Catholic Churches and wonder where all the great high altars are - they are all in this Cathedral. The only site with some pictures I have found is here. I saw a bit of the nearby Heinz Chapel - there was a wedding going on but I managed to walk down the side aisle and glance at the stunning 73 foot tall stained glass windows. Like the Heinz Chapel, the Cathedral of Learning is part of the University of Pittsburgh. I toured several of the Nationality Rooms in this building. These are museum like rooms that are used as classrooms - you peek through peepholes to ensure there are no classes being held and then go in to examine the artifacts.

It wasn't all high culture though, I also sat in a bar and discussed Ben Roethlisberger with locals and watched someone who bit into a ghost pepper on a dare and then proceeded to freak out. Good times.

Elderly Woman, 92, Become Nun

"Greek-born Chrystalla Petropoulou, of Long Island, NY has fulfilled a lifelong dream. At the age of 92, the Mattituck resident has become a nun in the Greek Orthodox Church.

The April 18, 2010 edition of Newsday reports that Petropoulou, seated in her wheelchair, officially became a nun on April 17, 2010 at the new All Saints Greek Orthodox Monastery in Calverton, Long Island. Along with Elizabeth Brandenburg, aged 28, and Maria Kallis, aged 27, Petropoulou received a new religious name and a new black habit.The three women each had hair in the shape of a cross ceremonially snipped from their heads."