Fairy Tale Vacation Part 2

While we were up at the cabin, we checked out the local town of Bedford, PA.

We started out visiting the local parish, St Thomas.  The Emperor had looked it up, and it looked like it had very beautiful windows.

Well, yes, actually, I think they were the most beautiful stained glass I've ever seen! 

It was like a combination of the lovely faces I've seen in German windows, along with the swirling colors in Tiffany's glass, inset with 3D cut glass "jewels."

 But what actually dropped my jaw, was that they had an illusion of depth which I have never seen, and which was impossible to capture on camera:  it looked as if you could see a foot or more into the glass- far more than the actual (quite ordinary) thickness.

Even more astonishing was that the windows were not the "special" thing about the church!

The parish's claim to fame (besides, you know, Jesus being there), was the amazing carved wooden altar triptych!

It was, in fact, from Germany, carved and gilded.  The two side panels are doors!  It is a very old tradition to cover statues during Holy Week, but here they literally close the doors on Good Friday, and the outside of the doors forms a casket topped with the symbols of the Passion!

The people who built the church must have been German immigrants: the side altars matched the main altar, the windows were indeed from Germany (but from the same time period as Tiffany).

And did I mention the ceiling?

 Those are carved angels!

We were pretty blown away by the church.  And then the pastor showed up and told us that the church had the Holy Doors for the Year of Mercy for their diocese!

So we had an impromptu pilgrimage on our vacation. :D

Tomorrow I'll finish up the vacation photos and you will learn what happens when Choclo and Oob borrow the camera.  Also, The Turkey.