This isn't a sight you see every day at Town Hall!  Volunteers prepare for the parade with angels and Saint James the Greatest. Photo by Stephen Pace. The Cathedral's Renaissance altarpiece by Neri di Bicci (Florentine) came home in style on Sunday afternoon, April 17, led by Cathedral piper Tyrone Heade and the Elliott Bay Pipe Band. The painting was transported from the Seattle Art Museum in a van to which a reproduction of the painting was attached. (The painting itself was safe inside.) The children of the Youth Music Program brought not only music but color to the streets of First Hill as they joined in the parade.  Photo by Stephen Pace. Special thanks to the Seattle Police Department whose watchful guidance made our progress through busy downtown streets possible! Saint James "the Greatest" didn't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime event.  (His fans may notice he was a little shorter than usual in order to fit under the power cables and bus lines on Ninth Avenue!) Many followed James up the hill and into the Cathedral. Photo by Stephen Pace An angel points the way. (The angels, created by parishioner Kitty Kavanaugh, are based on the work of another Renaissance artist, Giotto.) The children of the Cathedral's religious education program portrayed each of the saints in the painting while youth readers told the wonderful stories of their lives. Read the whole pageant and explore the painting online. More than 200 made the trek from Town Hall and gathered in the Cathedral's East Apse for this one-of-a-kind pageant. Holding the emblems which the saints hold in Neri di Bicci's altarpiece, the children pose dramatically for their big finale.  (From left to right: Luke with a book, Bartholomew with a knife, Lawrence with a gridiron, Mary of Nazareth, John the Baptist (with a cross), Martin of Tours carrying a crosier, and Sebastian with an arrow. Father Ryan blesses all who made this moment possible:  artists, benefactors, children, everyone!  The painting was unpacked and hung on Monday, April 18.  A solemn blessing took place Sunday, April 24 at 4:00 Vespers. Special thanks to the "Neri di Bicci Society of Seattle"--the people who made this great day in the life of our parish possible.  From left to right:  Elizabeth Wicks, Larry Brouse, Dr. Elizabeth Darrow, Professor Bruno Santi, Nicholas Dorman (conservator from the Seattle Art Museum), Father Ryan, and Dr. Susan Detweiler and Dr. Alexander Clowes, the generous donors who made the work possible.   Photos © St. James Cathedral, Seattle.  All rights reserved.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
 

Dr. Alexander Clowes & Dr. Susan Detweiler • Professor Bruno Santi • Dr. Elizabeth Darrow • Elizabeth Wicks  • Mimi Gardner Gates  • Chiyo Ishikawa  • Nicholas Dorman  • Sarah Kleiner • Virginia Mason Hospital Radiology Department  • Matt Galvin • David Brewster & the staff of Town Hall • Stephen Lee, architect  • Michael Stanley, Lease Crutcher Lewis Contractors • Artech • ...and the many, many others who made this day possible.

 

804 Ninth Avenue
Seattle, Washington  98104
Phone 206.622.3559  Fax 206.622.5303