Famous Cathedrals/Churches: Famous for good reason Quiz

Answer: Michelangelo's sculpture, the Pieta

Michelangelo's sculpture of the Pieta, depicting Jesus's mother holding her dead son, is one of the most moving religious pieces of all time. However, many viewers of this work also are able to see past the divine nature of this image and recognize the more secular emotions of a loving human mother grieving over the untimely death of her beloved human son. Either way, Michelangelo created a masterpiece.

His statue of David can be viewed in Florence as can Fra Fiullipo Lippi's Madonna and Child. Da Vinci's The Last Supper may be seen in Milan.

Obviously a trip to Italy is extremely worthwhile. Plan one soon.

Answer: St. Paul's Watch

St. Paul's Watch came about as a result of Sir Winston Churchill suggesting that something should be done to save St. Paul's Cathedral from German bombing raids, particularly the incendiary bombs whose sole purpose was to start fires.

As a result, throughout the Blitz about 200 people (many of them architects who understood the structure and its vulnerabilities) kept watch over St. Paul's, putting out some fires by hand and alerting fire-fighting teams to more dangerous fires. Since these raids were conducted at night, the volunteers were often working when they should have been sleeping.

At the end of the war, a grateful church and a grateful nation acknowledged the work of these heroes, devoting one of a set of services entirely to thanking these noble volunteers.

Answer: The four Evangelists

The four Evangelists are Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John who are the first four writers of the first four books of the Bible's New Testament: authors of the Gospels relating the life of Jesus Christ. It seems fitting that those who brought the Good News (which is what the word Gospel means) to Christian believers, should be represented by the main towers of this sublime piece of architecture.

Note that Sagrada Familia is not actually a cathedral, but a Roman Catholic Church. However, it really does have the splendid dimensions of a cathedral!

Answer: Gerald Ford

Up to 2020, only Ronald Reagan, George H W Bush and Dwight Eisenhower had also had State Funerals at Washington National Cathedral.

Theodore Roosevelt had no religious services. Herbert Hoover's funeral took place in St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City. A service of Thanksgiving only was held at Washington National Cathedral for Richard Nixon.

Incidentally, Washington National Cathedral's official title is St. Peter and St. Paul.

Answer: Claude Monet

Monet is better known, of course, for his paintings of water-lilies and gardens; all subjects close to his heart as any visitors to his garden in Giverny, France, will know.

However, his paintings of Rouen Cathedral are still accomplished in his distinctive style that attempts to capture the nature of light: 1892 - West Façade Sunlight; 1892 - Red Sunlight; 1893 - Full Sun, Blue and Gold; 1893 - Portal Morning Sun in Blues.

Answer: Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170 by a group of Barons from the court of King Henry II, after Henry had uttered these famous words: "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest"? The Barons took his suggestion seriously and went to work.

Thomas Becket, who was Archbishop of Canterbury and was at prayer at the time of his brutal slaying, was also a good friend of Henry's. The King made Becket the Archbishop in the hope that he could essentially keep the Church under control and subject to his somewhat tyrannical desires through the cooperation of his friend.

Unfortunately Becket took his duties far too seriously for King Henry's liking. Becket has since been canonized by the Roman Catholic Church and is now Saint Thomas Becket for his martyrdom while defending the Church against secular influences.

Answer: True

While the common name of this cathedral is the Duomo, it is actually officially called the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.

Answer: Coventry

The architecture of the new building was slightly controversial since some Britons found the modern stained glass windows, contemporary statuary, altar art and open design jarring against the more traditional type of Saxon, Norman and Gothic architectures which they were more used to in older British cathedrals.

Answer: The Hermitage

The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg. One of the largest and oldest museums in the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852. Most modern tourists are in awe of the art, the furnishings and the obvious wealth of the Tsars. Many have commented that in the face of such excess, a revolution was, perhaps, to be expected.

Conversely one might say of the Hermitage, that when tourists leave it, they are faced with the splendid façade of St. Isaac's right on the other side of the square!

Answer: Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral, one of the largest and most beautiful cathedrals in the world, is on many an architectural top-ten "must see cathedrals" list. The site is also famous for being Jane Austen's burial place, where visitors flock to see her memorials: the original one which does not mention her writing at all, and one added later which lauds the woman we know as one of the world's foremost authors.

Apparently, so my British family say, after the song "Winchester Cathedral" hit number one in the British Pop Music charts, there was a huge spike in the number of visitors to the Cathedral, many of whom were waiting for the building to do something other than just stand there!