Description of the attraction
The Catholic Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle is well known throughout America. Here on November 25, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the only Catholic president in the history of the United States, was buried. The temple dedicated to St. Matthew, the patron saint of civil servants, is located in the center of Washington, near the Supreme Court, and it is here that the so-called "Red Mass" is celebrated every autumn, at which the Holy Spirit is invoked for all representatives of the legal profession. Besides, the cathedral is simply very beautiful.
The red brick building in the Romanesque Renaissance style with Byzantine elements stands out from the modern buildings surrounding it. Architect Christopher Grant Lafarge, known for his involvement in the design of New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine, began building Saint Matthew in 1893. The first Mass was celebrated two years later, but the construction was completed only in 1913.
The cathedral is crowned with a powerful octagonal dome with a height of 61 meters. On the blank facade above the entrance, there is an image of St. Matthew holding the Gospel written by him. The interior turns out to be unexpectedly magnificent - it is richly decorated with marble, semi-precious stones, frescoes, mosaics, sculptures.
In 2000-2003, a full-scale restoration of the cathedral took place, after which magnificent mosaics by the outstanding American monumental artist Edwin Blashfield and frescoes by his assistant Vincent Ederente began to play with the same colors. Among the six amazingly beautiful chapels, the chapel of St. Anthony of Padua stands out - the mosaic landscape behind the arcade creates the illusion of a terrace overlooking an open space.
In front of the main altar, a marble slab is embedded in the floor, the inscription on which reminds: here during the funeral service there was a coffin with the body of John F. Kennedy.
The state funeral of President Kennedy, who was shot in Dallas on November 22, 1963, was held in several stages. At first, the coffin was in the White House, then it was put in the rotunda of the Capitol so that those who wish could say goodbye to the president. Within 18 hours, 250,000 Americans walked past the coffin. Then the funeral procession, led by the widow of the President Jacqueline and his brothers Robert and Edward, walked first to the White House, and then to the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. We walked the same road that the Kennedy couple used to go to Mass in Saint Matthew. The coffin was carried on a carriage, following it, according to tradition, a horse without a rider was led. About a million people stood on the sidewalks and millions watched the funeral on television.
Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Richard Cushing, a close friend of the Kennedy family, who married John and Jacqueline and baptized their children. At this funeral service, as at Kennedy's wedding, tenor Luigi Vienna sang "Ave Maria." When the sounds of music filled the cathedral, Jacqueline broke down and cried - the only time in the whole day.
After Mass, the mournful procession headed towards Arlington Cemetery. Standing at the steps of the cathedral, three-year-old John F. Kennedy Jr. saluted his father's coffin.
