“Today our gaze on the Holy Family lets us… be drawn into the simplicity of the life they led in Nazareth. It is an example that does our families great good, helping them increasingly to become communities of love and reconciliation, in which tenderness, mutual help, and mutual forgiveness is experienced.” – Pope Francis
As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph this week and reflect on their example, we invite you to explore eight places they are featured in the Basilica – from intricate sculptures to glittering mosaics.
1. The Holy Family at Rest Oratory
Located at the east entrance of the Crypt level of the National Shrine is the Holy Family at Rest Oratory, which is home to a bronze statue sculpted by artist Anna Hyatt Huntington, The Holy Family at Rest – Flight Into Egypt. Gifted to the Basilica in 1963, it portrays how the Holy Family may have looked after their “flight” recorded in Matthew 2:13.
2. The Holy Family Oratory
Carved in Trani marble, the relief sculpture found in the Holy Family Oratory in the Crypt Church shows St. Joseph lovingly surrounding the Blessed Mother with his robe, as she caresses the Christ Child against her cheek. At the bottom are inscribed the words: “Guide my heart.”
3. The Nativity Chapel
In the Joyful Mysteries Chapels of the Great Upper Church, the third chapel portrays the Nativity in a mosaic panel. The upper portion of the mosaic shows the Holy Family on the left, while the Magi and Shepherds worship on the right. In the lower portion of the mosaic, Isaiah is shown prophesying Emmanuel’s virgin birth.
4. The Eastern Chancel Clerestory Window
In the Great Upper Church, the eastern chancel clerestory window, also known as the Mary window, centers around the Assumption and Our Lady of Holy Hostýn. To the left of the main window, the nativity is also depicted in brilliant stained glass.
5. The Holy Family Stained Glass Window
The Holy Family window can be found in the Campanile anteroom. A gift from Margaret Gavigan, the stained glass was designed and installed by Charles J. Connick Associates in 1965.
6. The Incarnation Dome
Measuring 3,780 square feet, the Incarnation Dome features four different events surrounding the Incarnation of Jesus: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Wedding Feast at Cana, and the Transfiguration. The Dome is ringed with the text of John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.”
7. The Rosary Garden Mosaic
The vibrant colors of the Rosary Garden mosaics invite the faithful to pray through the decades of the rosary in a peaceful setting just outside the Basilica. Among the scenes depicted is the Nativity (the Third Joyful Mystery). The Holy Family is depicted in a stone stable beneath the star shining from the doorway, a picture of Jesus bringing light to the dark world.
8. The East Apse Soffit Mosaic
If you look straight up at the east apse of the Great Upper Church, your eyes will most likely be drawn to the towering mosaic of St. Joseph, patron of the family, the worker, and the Universal Church. But right above that, in the soffit of the vault, you will find a depiction of the Holy Family during their flight to Egypt in delicate mosaic tiles. This depiction shows Mary astride a donkey, holding the infant Jesus as Joseph guides them out of Israel.
Source:
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.