Last month, priests of the Diocese of Madison were asked to participate in the cathedral renovations of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church on Atwood Ave. in Madison in an important way.
In a mailing, priests of the diocese have been asked to support the cathedral project by funding the future sacrificial altar — the purchase of materials, and its construction and installation in the church.
The priests’ donations in support of the cathedral project are “a wonderful testament and a lasting gift for the cathedral,” said Fr. Michael Radowicz, pastor of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church, adding that there’s a special relationship between the sacrificial altar and the priesthood.
By the nature of a priest’s vocation, Father Radowicz said, “The altar is the place where the priest spends a majority of his ministry.
“It’s through his hands, and the work of the Holy Spirit, that the bread and wine are made into the Body and Blood of Christ,” he continued.
What makes their gift so symbolically important is because “the central element of the priesthood [in the cathedral] is going to be supported by our priests,” Father Radowicz said.
Marble, a pelican, and Christ
Instead of being constructed elsewhere and brought in, the altar will be entirely constructed on location at the church site, Father Radowicz explained, which gives the oversight team more control and up to date on progress of the most important piece in the future cathedral.
From the way Father Radowicz talked about the altar to its imagined renderings, there is no doubt that the sacrificial altar, placed in front of the high altar and reredos, is going to be beautiful.
Talking about the materials that will be used in construction, the altar will primarily “be made out of wood but it will also have sacred surfaces,” Father Radowicz said.
Marble is one of the sacred surfaces, which symbolizes purity and immortality. Wood, the other main material, symbolizes growth and strength.
Built on the wood beneath it, marble will be featured as a large slab on the top portion of the altar, or mensa, Father Radowicz said, and continued, saying, “We will also have complementary marble at all four posts on the [altar’s] edge.”
On the altar’s front, there will be a prominent mosaic.
The design, that of a pelican feeding her young, is inspired from an ancient piece of Christian imagery, “Pelican in her Piety,” and is a personal request of Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison, said Father Radowicz.
The image, “Pelican in her Piety,” shows a mother pelican bleeding from a self-inflicted wound, the blood of which feeds her young.
While mother pelicans do not, in fact, pierce their breast to feed their young as ancient observers believed, the Christian symbolism of the pelican has been passed down for centuries and is notably included in St. Thomas Aquinas’ hymn, “Adoro te devote.”
The bleeding pelican is “very symbolic of Christ on the cross,” Father Radowicz said.
As ancient Christians believed mother pelicans fed their offspring with their own blood, “We are nourished with the Bread of Life, the Cup of Salvation.”
The pelican then is “a very Eucharistic symbol,” he continued, because just as the blood of the pelican begins in the heart of the mother, the Eucharist is housed in the heart of the church, the tabernacle.
The Eucharist “goes from the tabernacle, which is the presence of Christ, to the altar, which is the true sacrifice, to the people,” who are nourished by it, Father Radowicz explained.
New branding
In recent weeks, new branding has been revealed at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church; namely, the future cathedral’s crest was made public.
The crest, a mixture of purposeful colors and symbols, is a combination of the diocesan crest and imagery from the life of St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
For instance, the top left and bottom right corners, which are blue and white, are taken directly from the crest of the Diocese of Madison.
They “symbolize the four lakes of the isthmus: Lakes Mendota, Monona, Waubesa, and Wingra,” wrote Father Radowicz in a recent parish bulletin.
The other two sections, in the upper right and lower left corners, are inspired from St. Bernard of Clairvaux.
Beginning with the upper right corner, a red and white checkered pattern is featured alongside fleurs-de-lis.
The checkered pattern on the black background “represents the family crest of St. Bernard of Clairvaux,” wrote Father Radowicz, explaining that in ancient times, “the use of a personal coat of arms was very prevalent”.
The two fleurs-de-lis French in nature, bring to mind St. Bernard’s nationality, but also “though not an explicitly Catholic symbol, [fleur-de-lis] has oftentimes been used to symbolize the Blessed Virgin Mary,” of which St. Bernard had a close affiliation with, wrote Father Radowicz.
Turning to the lower left corner, a beehive and the Book of the Scriptures are identified.
Considered individually, the beehive may be included because St. Bernard is the patron saint of beekeepers; the Book of the Scriptures may be included because St. Bernard is known for a love of Scripture.
However, when considered together, St. Bernard’s title, “Doctor Mellifluus” or roughly translated, “Doctor-flowing-with-honey” is brought to light.
This title reflects “the words he wrote and the words he chose in speech,” wrote Father Radowicz, which “were ‘sweeter than honey,’ taken from Psalm 19.
“He not only wished to express the meaning of sacred Scripture, but he would hover over the words, helping readers and listeners fall in love with God’s sacred word,” he continued.
Next, in the center of the crest is a red cross that contains a fish and a crosier.
The red cross is a symbol of Christ’s passion, wrote Father Radowicz, and the crosier “symbolizes St. Bernard’s authority as an abbot”.
The fish, a general symbol of Christianity also has a deeper meaning, Father Radowicz wrote, because the fish is “connected with the story of the archangel Raphael and Tobias in the book of Tobit, chapters four and five,” explaining that in the story, a fish serves as a sign of protection and healing, and in the Diocese of Madison, St. Raphael serves as patron.
For more information and to support the project, visit madisoncathedral.org.