Click on Cathedral-Basilica to enlarge.
Like a bolt from the blue, a few weeks ago I got an e-mail from the University of Toronto Press asking permission to use the above photo in an upcoming high-class coffee-table book (and its e-book avatar), which will be published (Good Lord willin' and the crik don't rise) this coming Spring entitled "Religions of Canadians."
In 2008 I trekked to Montreal on a train, stayed a night or two in the hotel above the big train station, and then hopped the 23-hour train to Halifax.
By total accident, this was the view out my hotel room window.
It's a Roman Catholic Cathedral, so those guys on the roof are The Apostles, right?
Who the heck else could they be? The Toronto Bluejays? The Rockettes dancing an Easter pageant? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?
I never gave it a second thought.
Until today.
I had suggested that the editor also identify and credit the sculptor, and she did.
Well, blow me down and knock me over with a feather! They're NOT The Apostles!
In 2008 I trekked to Montreal on a train, stayed a night or two in the hotel above the big train station, and then hopped the 23-hour train to Halifax.
By total accident, this was the view out my hotel room window.
It's a Roman Catholic Cathedral, so those guys on the roof are The Apostles, right?
Who the heck else could they be? The Toronto Bluejays? The Rockettes dancing an Easter pageant? Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?
I never gave it a second thought.
Until today.
I had suggested that the editor also identify and credit the sculptor, and she did.
Well, blow me down and knock me over with a feather! They're NOT The Apostles!
* * *
Hiya A***** --
Your identification of the sculptor led me to surf
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph-Olindo_Gratton
and discover that the statues are NOT the Apostles, but are
À la cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde (Montréal)
Saint Antoine de Padoue et l'Enfant-Jésus (1898)
Saint Vincent de Paul et un enfant trouvé (1893)
Saint Hyacinthe tenant une statuette de la Vierge (1899)
Saint Thomas d'Aquin (1900)
Saint Paul (1898)
Saint Jean l'Évangéliste (1893)
Saint Jacques-le-Majeur (1892)
Saint Joseph et l'Enfant-Jésus (1899)
Saint Jean Baptiste (1899)
Saint Patrice (1899)
Saint Ignace d'Antioche (1893)
Saint Charles Borromée (1899)
Saint François d'Assise (1898)
(I found no indication of left-right order, of who is which.)
This headache at the altar of accuracy now belongs to you and T******* F**. In my defense, I was just a camera-toting tourist passing through, and woefully ignorant of hagiography to boot.
Bob
* * *
Which brings us to today's PizzaQ -- 13 slices of French-bread Pizza.
Using your (hopefully superior) knowledge of the Christian and Roman Catholic Saints, can you identify these statues correctly, from left to right? (Gauche au droit, I guess.)
DO NOT TELEPHONE
OR E-MAIL THE CATHEDRAL.
That's cheating, and it's very possible they won't know for sure. The most recent statue went up in 1900, and 111 years is a lot of time to forget which saint is which.
They probably won't let you ask the Archbishop directly. And if they let you, he will probably insist you chat en francaise/Quebecois.
So this PizzaQ is really a test of how expert you are at Christian hagiography. For those who didn't snore or read Green Lantern comic books through Sunday School or Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, there should be lots of little clues in the statues to identify each one. That's always been the deal with Christian art -- it's filled with signs and symbols and tipoffs to know who's who.
I already screwed up this Holy Rooftop Lineup ignorantly and badly, so surely there exists a spiritually educated reader who can do better than I did.
So this PizzaQ is really a test of how expert you are at Christian hagiography. For those who didn't snore or read Green Lantern comic books through Sunday School or Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, there should be lots of little clues in the statues to identify each one. That's always been the deal with Christian art -- it's filled with signs and symbols and tipoffs to know who's who.
I already screwed up this Holy Rooftop Lineup ignorantly and badly, so surely there exists a spiritually educated reader who can do better than I did.
And 13 slices of French Bread Pizza is not chopped liver!
