The Cathedral Foyer

"O sages standing in God's holy fire
As in the gold mosaic of a wall"...
         —William Butler Yeats
              "Sailing To Byzantium"

     The part of the building just inside the main entrance depicts the life of Louis IX of France, a king from the 13th century (he was 9 years old when Francis of Assisi died) and the "Saint Louis" the city is named after. These mosaics are striking in that the entire room creates an atmosphere of pure gold.

 

The caption above the mosaic picture reads "St. Louis ruling his subjects"

 

This one says, "St. Louis giving holy communion."

 

Again the arabesque sort of motif, on the ceiling.
The vine, I read, also symbolizes Christ.

 

"I have fought a good fight. I have kept the faith." An
unusually colloquially expressed motto for Christ, somehow.

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