The elaborate front entryway contains within its many baroque details a number of Christian symbols. Look carefully starting at the base of the columns and work upward as you find the following symbols:

  • Bead & Reel: Cycles of Life
  • Bronze Mirror: Truth
  • Chi Rho: Earliest known symbol of Christ
  • Cross & Crown: Reward after Death
  • Cross of Constantine: Surrounded by the Stone Lace of Mystery and the Acanthus Leaves of Truth
  • Dove: Holy Spirit. When used with urn it means Baptism of the Holy Spirit
  • Egg: Creation or beginning of life
  • Flowers in Festoons: Rose for Love; Lily for Purity; Passion Flower for Sacrifice
  • Harp: Harmony in the Kingdom of Heaven
  • Interlocking Circles: Continuity of Life
  • Olive Leaf Wreath: Peace & Fellowship
  • Scallop Shell: Early symbol for travelers
  • St. Andrew’s Cross: Andrew asked to be crucified on a tilted cross
  • Torch: Christian Witness
  • Twisting Columns: Moving Ever Upward
  • Urn: Repentance & Water Baptism

(all photos courtesy of Paul Gray)