Alutauag Mosque Postcard

The postcard shows the Alutauag Mosque located in Jolo, Sulu. Unfortunately couldn't find information regarding the mosque.

Alutauag Mosque Postcard

Ogden Utah Temple Postcard

The Ogden Utah Temple (formerly the Ogden Temple) is the sixteenth constructed and fourteenth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in the city of Ogden, Utah, it was built with a modern, single-spire design very similar to the Provo Utah Temple. The Ogden Temple was dedicated on January 18, 1972, by Joseph Fielding Smith.

Ogden Utah Temple Postcard
(PH Wish from Judy Anderson)

The Ogden Temple is 115,000 square feet and has four floors, one below ground. There are six ordinance rooms and eleven sealing rooms. The stone on the Ogden temple is fluted, and between the stone decorative metal grillwork has been added. Gold windows with directional glass also add to the beauty of the temple.

SOURCE:
Ogden Utah Temple Wikipedia Entry

Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel Postcard

Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel is a chapel for “the busy office employees and working people, right in the heart of Makati’s Business District ” The structure was designed by Architect Willie Fernandez, and then enhanced by Jess Dizon, who rendered the circular pattern of the building. Noted glass sculptor, Ramon Orlina, fabricated the ceiling, tabernacle, altar, and the cross at the entrance, the sacristy, and the God the Father image on the dome.

Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel Postcard

SOURCE:
Greenbelt Chapel Homepage

Milton Abbey Chapel Postcards

Milton Abbey in Dorset was a Benedictine foundation, but only part of the church now survives and is used as the Milton Abbey School Chapel. The abbey church is built in a mixture of Ham stone, Chilmark stone and flint. Its style is mostly Decorated Gothic dating from the mid 14th century.

Milton Abbey Chapel Postcard 1

The Earl and Countess of Dorchester were also generous to the church, and their joint tomb, designed by Robert Adam with sculpture by Agostino Carlini, is to be found in the north transept. Perhaps the most striking feature of the church's interior, however, is its south window, designed as a Tree of Jesse by August Pugin.

Milton Abbey Chapel Postcard 2

Milton Abbey Chapel Postcard 3

SOURCE:
Milton Abbey School Wikipedia Entry

Chapel of Saint Anthony Postcard

The postcard shows the Chapel of Saint Anthony. The chapel is located at the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua (Sant' Antonio de Padova) in Padua, Italy. The Saint’s tomb has been called the “Ark” from the very beginning. The Saint’s tomb is in the altar in this chapel, at head height. The taller candlestick supported by marble angels upfront are sixteenth century creations by Filippo Parodi.

Chapel of Saint Anthony Postcard

SOURCE:
The chapel of the tomb of Saint Anthony

Scala Santa Chapel Postcard

The Scala Santa Chapel (Chapel of the Holy Steps), part of the Basilica of Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, was built in 1871. Inside you will find a replica of the holy steps that Christ mounted to be taken before Pontius Pilate.

Scala Santa Chapel Postcard

Chapel of the Carmelites of Lisieux Postcard

On entering the Chapel of the Carmelites of Lisieux one feels in communion with St. Thérèse who lived here from 9th April, 1888 until 30th September, 1897. Pilgrims can come and venerate the remains of St. Thérèse in the Chapel of the Reliquary. A wax statue is fashioned after the saint at the moment of her death, a delicate smile on her face. The saint is buried below.

Chapel of the Carmelites of Lisieux Postcard

Engraved along the top of the case are her words: Je veux passer mon ciel faire du bien sur la terre; “I want to spend my Heaven doing good on earth.” Above her is the actual statue of Notre Dame du Sourire, the one that cured St. Therese during her illness.

Our Lady of Manaoag Cathedral Postcard

The Our Lady of Manaoag Cathedral was established 400 years ago. Ten years after which, the ivory image was brought to the Philippines by Padre Juan de San Jacinto from Spain via Acapulco. Folk tradition has it that the Blessed Mother Mary Herself designated the place where the church would be built.

Our Lady of Manaoag Cathedral Postcard

The Our Lady of Manaoag Cathedral is Spanish-Romanesque sprinkled with a little touch of German and Italian Renaissance architectural composition. The main features of the facade of the church, on each pilaster at the lower section are topped by the statues of St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Margaret of Hungary, St. Catherine of Sienna and St. Dominic of Guzman.

At the center of the church stands the elevated majestic wooden Altar of Our Lady. Atop the tabernacle of the Most Blessed Sacrament are; the center of which enthrones the miraculous image of Our Lady flanked to its right by the statue of St. Francis of Assisi; to its left by the statue of St. Dominic of Guzman.

SOURCE:
Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Postcard

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral is the ecclesiastical seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cebu in Cebu. Construction of the cathedral took long due to frequent interruptions brought about by lack of funds and other unexpected events.

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Postcard

The architecture of the church is typical with baroque colonial churches in the country -- squat, cruciform, and with thick walls to withstand typhoon and other natural calamities. The trefoil-shaped pediment is decorated with carved relieves of floral motifs, an IHS inscription and a pair of griffins. The Spanish Royal Coat of Arms is emblazoned in low relief above the main entrance owing perhaps to the contribution of the Spanish monarch to its construction.

SOURCE:Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral Wikipedia Entry

Cathedral of Our Lady of Atonement Postcards

Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral, better known as Baguio Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral located in Baguio City. The cathedral has a distinct pink facade with a rose window and twin square bell towers with pyramidal roofs.

Baguio Cathedral Postcard 1

The site where the cathedral currently stands was a hill referred to as "Kampo" by the Ibaloi people. In 1907, a Catholic mission was established by Belgian missionaries from the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae, who named the site Mount Mary. Construction on the cathedral itself was began in 1920. The building was completed by 1936, and consecrated that year, dedicated to Our Lady of Atonement.

Baguio Cathedral Postcard 2

The cathedral is accessible to pedestrians from Session Road through a 100-step stone staircase. The Baguio Cathedral is also distinct for probably being the only Cathedral in the world that owns and operates its own shopping center, called Porta Vaga, partially built from donations from church-goers, coyed into thinking they were building a supporting wall for the hillside that collapsed during the earthquake of 16 July 1990.

Baguio Cathedral Postcard 3

Baguio Cathedral Postcard 4

SOURCE:
Baguio Cathedral Wikipedia Entry

Winchester Cathedral Postcard

Winchester Cathedral (which I had the chance to visit in 2005) at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. It is dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun.

Winchester Cathedral Postcard

Nowadays the cathedral draws many tourists as a result of its association with Jane Austen (I am a big fan of her), who died in the city and is buried in the cathedral's north aisle of the nave. The cathedral also possesses the only diatonic ring of 14 church bells in the world, with a tenor (heaviest bell) weighing 36 cwt (or approximately 1.83 metric tonnes).

SOURCE:Winchester Cathedral Wikipedia Entry

Basel Münster Postcard

The Basel Münster (Basler Münster) is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions of the Swiss city of Basel. Originally a Catholic cathedral and today a reformed Protestant church, it was built between 1019 and 1500 in Romanesque and Gothic styles.

Basel Münster Postcard

The late Romanesque building was destroyed by the 1356 Basel earthquake and rebuilt by Johannes Gmünd. This building was extended from 1421 by Ulrich von Ensingen, architect of the cathedral towers at Ulm and Strasbourg. It adds definition to the cityscape with its red sandstone architecture and coloured roof tiles, its two slim towers and the cross-shaped intersection of the main roof.

SOURCE:
Basel Münster Wikipedia Entry

St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral Postcard

The St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral is located at the Treurenberg hill in Brussels, Belgium. The church patron saints, archangel St. Michael and the martyr St. Gudula, are also the patron saints of the city of Brussels.

St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral Postcard

In 1047, Lambert II, Count of Leuven founded a chapter in this church and organized the transportation of the relics of Saint Gudula, before then housed in Saint Gaugericus Church on Saint Gaugericus Island. The south tower contains a 49-bell carillon by the Royal Eijsbouts bell foundry on which Sunday concerts are often given.

SOURCE:
St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral Wikipedia Entry

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Postcard

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is situated in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. The cathedral is the reputed burial-place of Saint James the Great, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. Construction of the present cathedral began in 1075 under the reign of Alfonso VI of Castile (1040-1109) and the patronage of bishop Diego Peláez. It was built mostly in granite. The cathedral has been embellished and expanded between the 16th and the 18th century.

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Postcard(PH Wish from Vera Masterkova)

The postcard shows the 12th century Portico da Gloria behind the western facade. This Portico da Gloria in the narthex of the west portal is a remains from the Romanesque period. It is a masterwork of Romanesque sculpture built between 1168 and 1188 by Master Mateo. The vigorous naturalism of the figures in this triple portal is an expression of an art form, varied in its details, workmanship and polychromy (of which faint traces of colour remain).

SOURCE:
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela Wikipedia Entry

Saint Isaac's Cathedral Postcard

Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor in Saint Petersburg, Russia is the largest cathedral in the city and was the largest church in Russia when it was built (101.5 meters high). It was dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great who had been born on the feast day of that saint. The church on St Isaac's Square was ordered by Tsar Alexander I, to replace an earlier Rinaldiesque structure. The cathedral took 40 years to construct, under Montferrand's direction, from 1818 to 1858.

Saint Isaac's Cathedral Postcard(PH Wish from Vera Masterkova)

The severe neoclassical exterior expresses a traditional Russian-Byzantine formula: a Greek-cross groundplan with a large central dome and four subsidiary domes. It is similar to Andrea Palladio's Villa La Rotonda, with a full dome on a high drum substituted for the Villa's low central saucer dome.

SOURCE:
Saint Isaac's Cathedral Wikipedia Entry

Cathedral of San Fernando Postcard

The Cathedral of San Fernando is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church located in San Antonio, Texas. The cathedral is also known as the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria y Guadalupe. The church was named for Ferdinand III of Castile, who ruled in the 13th century.

Cathedral of San Fernando Postcard(PH Wish from Karen Brzezinski)

The original church of San Fernando was built between 1738 and 1750. The walls of that church today form the sanctuary of the cathedral. The baptismal font, believed to be a gift from Charles III is the oldest piece of liturgical furnishing in the cathedral. In 1868, the cathedral was considerably enlarged in the Gothic style, the addition forming the existing nave. The carved stone Stations of the Cross were added in 1874. The striking stained glass windows were added in 1920.

SOURCE:Cathedral of San Fernando Wikipedia Entry

St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York Postcard

St. Patrick's Cathedral is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Catholic cathedral located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan. The cathedral is built of white marble quarried in New York and Massachusetts and can accommodate 2,200 people. The spires rise 330 feet (100 meters) from street level. The roof is made from slate from Monson, Maine.

St. Patrick's Cathedral Postcard
(Trade with Barbara Sussman)

The postcard also shows Lee Lawrie's colossal bronze statue of Atlas.

SOURCE:St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York Wikipedia Entry

Minor Basilica of the Santo Niño Postcards

Basílica Minore del Santo Niño, also called Basilica del Santo Niño and formerly known as the San Agustin Church, is a 16th century church in the heart of Cebu City. It is purportedly built on the exact spot where the image of the Santo Niño, a sculpture depicting Jesus as a black Holy Child, was found by Spanish conquistadors in 1565 preserved in a burned wooden box which was left behind during the 1521 Magellan expedition.

Basilica del Santo Niño Postcard 1

The church of Santo Niño de Cebu was founded by an Augustinian priest, Andrés de Urdaneta on April 28, 1565. The first church structure was built out of earth, hard wood and nipa in 1566 ordered by Fr. Diego de Herrera. In 1735, Fernando Valdés y Tamon, the Governor of Cebu, ordered the church to be constructed of hard stone. Construction was completed in 1739. In 1965, during the fourth centenary of the Christianization of the Philippines, Pope Paul VI elevated the church to the rank of minor basilica.

Basilica del Santo Niño Postcard 2

The stones were quarried from Capiz and Panay by an army of bancas. The molave wood came from the mountains of Talisay and Pitalo and was transported in bancas hired in Argao and Carcar. He used white stones to make the lime, with one banca transporting some 400 pieces of stones.

Basilica del Santo Niño Altar Postcard

The façade of the basilica is a blending of Muslim, Romanesque and neo-classical features. The façade is preserved in its original stone texture and natural color. The bell tower has two blind and open windows alternating in shape, ending up in triangular pinnacles with a circular disc crowned by balusters and a bulbous dome of Muslim influence. The arched main entrance is balanced by the side rectangular corners. A double-edged triangular pediment crowns the facade.

Basilica del Santo Niño Postcard 3

Basilica del Santo Niño Postcard 4

SOURCES:
Basilica of Santo Niño Wikipedia Entry
Basilica of Santo Niño Homepage

Basilica de San Martin de Tours Postcards

Minor Basilica de San Martin de Tours (Taal Cathedral) is considered as the largest in Asia and biggest church in the Philippines. San Martin de Tours is the Patron Saint of Taal with the feast day every November 11th of the year.

Taal Cathedral Postcard 1

The church was first built by father Diego Espina in 1575 in present day San Nicolas but abandoned in 1754 due the eruption of Taal and rebuild in 1755. Then an earthquake shook it down in 1849. Construction of the present church was started in 1856 that was supervised by an architect, Luciano Oliver.

Taal Cathedral Postcard 2

The Taal Basilica is quite famous with its high ceilings, ornate chandeliers and unusual facade. Its façade is baroque and consists of a single mass of stone shaped into rich complex designs. The church, however, is a fusion of styles with arched openings, alternating segmental canopies and arches of assymmetric shapes. It stands 96 meters long and 45 meters wide and is situated in a plateau in the heart of Taal.

Taal Cathedral Postcard 3

SOURCE:
Basilica de San Martin de Tours

Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Visitation of Piat Postcard

Our Lady of Piat is a 400-year old image of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The itinerary of the Blessed Image of Our Lady of Piat started in Macao (China) from where it was brought to Manila. From Manila she was taken to Lallo and from there to Piat. Spearheaded by the archbishop Diosdado Talamayan and said to be partly built of the old bricks from the original ermita, the new shrine broke ground in 1988, blessed by the Cardinal Sin in 1995 and was regarded as a minor basilica in 1999.

Our Lady of Piat Postcard

No description of the image is given by any of the historians, though it is often mentioned that is "of talla" (a sculpture or statue, as opposed to a painting or canvass).Perhaps the greatest attraction is the miracles. Famous is the early story about the drought. In 1624, the region was suffering from a terrible one. Facing famine, the people turned to their priest, who advised them to “make their peace with God by going to the Sacrament and making a novena to the Blessed Mother.” The people did, going to confession, receiving Holy Communion and reciting a novena to Our Lady of Piat. In the middle of their novena, rain fell.

SOURCES:Our Lady of Piat Homepage
A Short Heritage Tour of Cagayan

Basilica of St Lorenzo Ruiz Postcards

Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz (Binondo Church) was founded by Dominican priests in 1596 to serve their Chinese converts to Christianity. The original building was destroyed by a bombardment by the British in 1762 during their brief occupation of Manila at that time.

Binondo Church Postcard 1

Binondo Church was greatly damaged during the Second World War, although fortunately the western facade and the octagonal bell tower survived. The current granite church was completed on the same site in 1852 and features an octagonal bell tower which suggests the Chinese culture of the parishioners.

Binondo Church Postcard 2

Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz was named after the sacristan, San Lorenzo Ruiz. Saint Lorenzo Ruiz (c.1600 - Sept. 29, 1637), served at the convent of Binondo church as an altar boy. After a few years he earned the title of escribano and soon became a member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary.

Binondo Church Postcard 3

He was working as a clerk at the Binondo Church when he was falsely accused of killing a Spaniard in 1636. He sought asylum on board a ship with three Dominican priests. The boat landed at Okinawa and the group was arrested on basis of their Christian religion. They were tortured, but they did not denounce their faith and died as martyrs.

Binondo Church Postcard 4

Lorenzo Ruiz was beatified in Manila on Feb 18, 1981 by Pope John Paul II. He was canonized on Oct 18, 1987, becoming Philippines' first saint. A large statue of the martyr stands in front of the church.

Binondo Church Postcard 5

SOURCE:
Binondo Church, Manila

Basilica of San Sebastián Postcards

The Basilica Minore de San Sebastian (San Sebastian Church) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Manila. It is the seat of the Parish of San Sebastian and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. The Church of San Sebastian was raised to the status of a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII on June 24, 1890.

San Sebastian Church Postcard 1

Completed in 1891, San Sebastian Church has been recognized by the UNESCO as the only all-steel church or basilica in Asia. It has also been implausibly reputed to be the first prefabricated building in the world, and more plausibly claimed as the only prefabricated steel church in the world. In 2006, San Sebastian Church was included in the Tentative List for possible designation as a World Heritage Site.

San Sebastian Church Postcard 2

The prefabricated steel sections that would compose San Sebastian Church were manufactured in Binche, Belgium. In all, 52 tons of prefabricated steel sections were transported in eight separate shipments from Belgium to the Philippines. The walls were filled with mixed sand, gravel and cement.

San Sebastian Church Postcard 3

The connection between Gustave Eiffel (the French engineer behind the Eiffel Tower) and San Sebastian Church was reportedly confirmed by historian Ambeth Ocampo while doing research in Paris. Ocampo likewise published a report that in the 1970s, the famed architect I. M. Pei had visited Manila to confirm reports he had heard that Eiffel had designed an all-steel church in Asia. When Pei inspected San Sebastian Church, he reportedly pronounced that the metal fixtures and overall structure were indeed designed by Eiffel.

San Sebastian Church Postcard 4

San Sebastian Church has two openwork towers and steel vaulting. The basilica's central nave is twelve meters from the floor to the dome, and thirty-two meters to the tip of the spires. The interior of the church displays groined vaults in the Gothic architecture style. The steel columns, walls and ceiling were painted by Filipino artist Lorenzo Rocha and his students to give off a faux-marble and jasper appearance.

SOURCE:
Basilica of San Sebastian, Manila Wikipedia Entry

Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica Postcards

The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Manila Cathedral) was the seat of the Archbishop of Manila during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines, and still remains the ecclesiastical seat of the Archdiocese of Manila.

Manila Cathedral Postcard 1

Fernando Ocampo came up with a new and modern cathedral with an appearance similar to its predecessor but with a more functional use of space. Ocampo’s cathedral was made more spatially and visually interesting by its striking Neo-Romanesque façade, Byzantine motifs, bronze doors, pineapple finials, and many other artistic ornamentations.

Manila Cathedral Postcard 2

The Manila Cathedral covers an area of almost 3,000 square meters. The present structure has a Latin-cross plan which closely follows the distribution of spaces of the previous cathedral—aisles are separated from the nave by arcaded colonnades, and several chapels flank the nave.

Manila Cathedral Postcard 3

Chapels are paved by highly polished Carrara marble prefabricated in Italy. The main altar, which has a two-meter high statue of the Immaculate Conception, is featured with lovely columns built out of green Carrara marble.

Manila Cathedral Postcard 4

Paving the rest of the cathedral floor are cream slabs of marble. Marble also found its way in the altars of the side chapels where reliefs and mosaic panels add further decorative accents. Likewise, the pulpit and the Episcopal throne are made out of Italian marble.

Manila Cathedral Postcard 5

SOURCE:
Manila Cathedral Wikipedia Entry

Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene Postcards

Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church) is a Roman Catholic church located in Quiapo, Manila. It is home to the Black Nazarene, a much venerated statue of Jesus Christ which many people believe has miraculous attributes; because of this the church is sometimes referred to as the "Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene".

Quiapo Church Postcard 1

The foundations of the church was built in 1582 and survived the devastation of World War II despite surrounding buildings being completely destroyed. The church was painted cream after the original Mexican Baroque edifice was burned down in 1928.

Quiapo Church Postcard 2

Brought to the country by the Recollect Friars in the early 1600s, the Señor, the endearing name for the Black Nazarene, finally found permanent residence at the Quiapo Church, relegating its patron saint, St. John de Baptist to a permanent status of obscurity and lessened reverence.

Quiapo Church Postcard 3

Black Nazarene is a 400-year-old, darkened, wooden life-size image of Christ, clad in a maroon robe and semi-kneeling from carrying a large wooden cross. This image sits high above the altar.

Quiapo Church Postcard 4

On Fridays thousands of Catholic devotees may be seen inside the church edging forward on their knees towards the crucifix. The image is said to have special powers to grant favors and miracles to its devotees.

Quiapo Church Postcard 5

Quiapo Church Postcard 6

Quiapo Church Postcard 7

Quiapo Church Postcard 8

Quiapo Church Postcard 9

SOURCE:
Quiapo Church Wikipedia Entry