St. Francis Xavier Basilica and New Melleray Abbey - Dyersville and Peosta, IA

The Basilica of St. Francis Xavier and the New Melleray Abbey are sacred spaces for Christians, specifically Catholic Christians. The Basilica is highly decorated and has many intricate details. There are several paintings, murals, and statues of various saints, angels, and other biblical figures. Many things throughout the church are adorned with vibrant colors and not many "earthy" tones. Most of the pews, ceilings, floors, and other places in the church had curves or arches associated with them. On the other hand, New Melleray is very plain and simple. In the main chapel at New Melleray, there was a painting of Mary and Jesus as well as a crucifix, but that was about all for paintings and statues. During our tour, we also saw that there were a few other pictures, such as the stations of the cross. The majority of New Melleray was done in "earthy" or natural colors. There was quite a bit of limestone, cinderblock, and bare wood. The furniture and design of the chapel/other parts of New Melleray were mostly made up with straight lines. Even though the Basilica and New Melleray both looked very different, there were also several similarities. Each place had a crucifix, an altar, a tabernacle, pews, and depictions of Jesus and/or other biblical figures. Each sacred space is also used for prayer, both private and as a community.

If I had to give a tour of both places to someone who is not Christian and explain how they are both sacred places for Christians, I would probably first begin by explaining how Christians believe that "church" is more than a building. I would explain that "church" also represents the people that go to worship there as well as the Christians outside of that particular worship space. I would then explain that mass (for Catholics) or a religious celebration can be done in more than one place, for example, when I was at the Christian Leadership Institue this past summer, we had mass around a campfire one night and the next night had it in a chapel. It was the same ritual with the same prayers and the same group of people, just a different space. I might also compare the two spaces to two different classrooms in a school. Both of these classrooms might be used for teaching math, but they may look completely different. One teacher might like a lot of colorful designs and quotes while the other doesn't do much decorating at all. Because both classrooms are used for math, they might have simliar elements such as numbers or formulas and be used for the same purpose, but they still look very different.

If someone asked me which space I preferred and why, I would probably answer that I prefer the Basilica. I like it because of the sense of communtiy and because of the intricate details. When I am able to worship with a large number of people, I feel as though I'm part of something bigger and that there are more people who share my beliefs. This sense of community is like a security blanket on which I know I can fall back upon. I also enjoy all of the depictions of different saints and biblical figures found at the Basilica. Sometimes I learn best by and relate to pictures and things I see, so all of the visuals in the Basilica allow me to do that. The pictures also spark my interest in learning more about the people and/or events depicted. While I like the sense of a large commmunity and intricate details found at the Basilica, I sometimes prefer the "isolation" (meaning a smaller community) and simplicity of New Melleray. Sometimes I just feel the need to be alone with God, which is sometimes hard to do in a big church. It seems more intimate when I'm in a smaller place. Along with being more intimate, when things are more simple, it is sometimes easier for me to be with God. There aren't as many distractions. I can focus on my intentions, prayers and listening to God. In other words, I usually prefer more detailed sacred spaces such as the Basilica, but there are instances where I prefer a more simple sacred space such as at New Melleray.

Pictures from the day, courtesy of Kay Paul