Tour of The Cathedral of St. Helena

After our tour of the Helena Capitol, we also took a two hour tour of the Cathedral of Saint Helena. What an absolutely gorgeous church. There are 59 stained glass windows in the cathedral and they are enormous. They are also priceless. The were made by the F. X. Zettler firm of Munich, German. They estimate each of the large windows are worth from $1 Million to $2 Million each and they cannot be replaced. The techniques used to do these windows is so time consuming and precise that no one does it anymore. If you ever are in Helena, you must see this church and the windows. Our pictures do not do them justice.

Cathedral of St. Helena

Saints around the front door.

When we first arrived at the church, there was a funeral Mass in progress.  We just sneaked in the side door and attended the service.  After all the mourners had left, the volunteer guide gathered everyone that was there for the tour and took us on a tour.  He was very thorough and very knowledgeable.  He wasn't even from the area but his son lives here.  He and his wife attend Mass during the summer and he started doing the tours for them during the summer.  He and two other people share the volunteer times.  I don't think there was a question that was asked of him that he couldn't answer and we appreciated his expertise very much.

Baptismal Font at the front of the church facing the altar.

The marble in this font is also priceless as this type of marble is no long available.

The front alter. It has the one window that wasn't done by Zettler. It is a medieval design and really doesn't go with the rest of the church although it is is pretty. It isn't spectacular!

The light fixtures are in front on almost every window which is exasperating 

when you are trying to take pictures. The neat thing is that when they put the

sound system in, they put the speakers in the bottom so they don't have wiring everywhere.

Side Altar

A closer look at the statue of St. Joseph

Another Side Altar

They have a wonderful organ

The Medieval Window behind the altar

The windows above the center altar

One of the Stations of the Cross

The Rose Window

The Choir Loft