“In the birth of the Son of God from the virginal womb of Mary, Christians recognize the infinite descent of the Most High to man and the whole of creation. In the Incarnation, God comes to visit his People… God’s visit is never ineffective: he frees us from affliction and gives us hope, he brings us salvation and joy.” – Pope John Paul II
One of the five domes of the Great Upper Church, the Incarnation Dome honors one of the great mysteries of our faith: that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. Through His Incarnation, Christ entered the world and experienced the limitations and temptations of our humanity, without ever ceasing to be God.
This year, as we celebrate the 19th anniversary of the Incarnation Dome’s completion on July 12, we invite you to discover five fun facts about this stunning piece of sacred art.
1. It is the first dome on the path to the Christ in Majesty mosaic.
Did you know the Great Upper Church of the Basilica is composed of five distinctive domes which form a timeline of the New Testament?
First, the Incarnation Dome depicts the moment at which Christ entered this world and was made manifest; the Redemption Dome depicts the story of how Christ redeemed us through His death and resurrection; the Trinity Dome encompasses the central mystery of our faith, the Most Holy Trinity; the Sanctification Dome portrays the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, when the apostles received the Holy Spirit and were sent to preach the Gospel; and the Triumph of the Lamb Dome depicts the prophecies of the Book of Revelation in which Christ, the Lamb, and His Church, will triumph. This dome naturally leads to Christ in Majesty, the mosaic of Christ in all His glory as He will appear at the end of the world.
2. The Incarnation Dome is the exact same size as the Redemption Dome mosaic.
And that isn’t the only likeness between the two domes! The Incarnation, Redemption, and Trinity Domes have a similar style since they were designed by Leandro Miguel Velasco of Rambusch Decorating Co. and manufactured by the Travisanutto Co.
3. In order to install the Incarnation Dome mosaic, workers had to build a two-story moveable cabin eight stories above the nave floor.
In Jubilee 2009, Basilica Archivist and Curator Dr. Geraldine Rohling explains the process:
“First, workers must build a two-story moveable cabin eight stories above the nave floor. Workers remove the current cement ceiling; the terra cotta brick is sand-blasted and covered in cement. After the cement cures for one month, mosaic installation begins. The dome mosaic is a full-scale painting translated by mosaicists onto a curved surface by thousands of small glass tiles. Imagine trying to install a snapshot against the concave interior of a grapefruit without distorting the picture.”
4. The dome divides into four quadrants which depict the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Wedding Feast at Cana, and the Transfiguration.
Each of these four quadrants highlights a biblical event in the manifestation of Christ, tracing the earthly life of our Lord from His conception in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, through His birth and first miracle at Cana, to the revelation of His glory in the Transfiguration. Additionally, the dome’s four pendentives portray significant persons from the scriptural and prophetic accounts of these events: Jeremiah, Isaiah, the Matriarch Sarah, and the Prophet Micah. Above these portrayals, the text of John 1:14 encircles the dome:
“And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and of truth.”
5. The mosaic’s area totals 3,780 square feet.
The mosaic took a little over a year to install, beginning on June 23, 2006, and ending on July 12, 2007. On November 17, 2007, it was dedicated by Archbishop Donald Wuerl.
As we reflect on the beautiful mystery of the incarnation, we remember the words of the Nicene Creed:
“For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.”
Sources:
“General Audience of Pope John Paul II,” The Vatican.
Rohling, Geraldine M., PhD, MAEd. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception: Guide and Tour Book. Washington, D.C.: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 2018.
Rohling. Jubilee 2009: A Photographic History of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.