Not U Chicago’s Rockefeller cathedral, but for a moment, I was very disoriented! Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal.
Walking up to the Basilica.
Even the ticket office at the Basilica is stunning.
Pretty money, flowers, buildings, doors.
I’m not religious (relaxed agnostic), but the moment when I walked into the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal and was met by this shattering gorgeousness — for just a moment, it made me *want* to be religious.
Which I suppose is the point.
So many fascinating details at the Basilica. I spent a lot of time appreciating how the builders used light, and also how they managed to use lavish Gothic detailing *everywhere*, while still leaving enough space to breathe. Stunning design, and also so interesting to think about how I’m evolving the religions on the SF novel I’m writing. So far, none of them are really about reaching for the sky, the light, the shine and sparkle, for one. Though that might change.
Back when I was coerced into going through with Confirmation, even though I had left the Church a year earlier, in seventh grade, I picked Kateri Tekakwitha as my saint. She refused to marry the man her father picked for her.
Here endeth the lesson.
