The Loreto

The Loreto
Lauren Brooks
The other day Brooklyn and I ventured out on our own to examine this church and famous pilgrimage site. It was by far one of the weirdest and most interesting places I have been to so far in Prague. Looking at it afterwards it still feels like a very mysterious place. I don’t know where to begin. The Loreto is an Italian term and means the house where the annunciation of Jesus took place, it originated in Italy and when Christianity spread throughout Eastern Europe many replicas of these houses were built to help sway people to the Christian faith. All throughout Eastern Bohemia these churches sprang up and were very important in pilgrimages of the faith. It is connected with the Capuchin Order of Monks who still care for the chapel. It is widely by tourists for 2 main reasons, the immense collection of expensive jewels and the carillon bells.
Brooklyn and I had the chance to experience this amazing place and by far the most interesting exhibit were the immense and expensive jewels they had. The most expensive piece they had is called the Diamond Monstrance which features over 6,000 diamonds. This piece is only used on very very special occasions; the last time it was used was 1999 for a pilgrim celebration, over 300 years after it had been made. This room was literally blinding with the amount of jewels that these cups, altar pieces and crucifixes contained.
While I appreciate the splendor and the praise that these pieces of art were made for I also wonder where the line between worship and over-indulgence concerned in art is. The “gaudiness” of some of these pieces I really question? Couldn’t we hawk a bunch of these goblets, chalices, and altarpieces and feed like a third world country or half of Africa. I mean why do we need all this ornamentation, I don’t picture God as the kind of person who would want that gaudy chalice or altar piece, I think his focus would be on feeding the hungry, I mean isn’t that what our focus should be in being “like Christ”? Just something to think about the next time your church wants a new stain glassed window…

St. Cyril and St Methodius

St. Cyril and St Methodius
Lauren Brooks
On Saturday I visited an amazing church in Prague. This church has witnessed the occupation of 2 different countries and still stands today. The paratroopers who assassinated Rienhart Heidrich hid out in this church crypt until they finally committed suicide rather than be taken by the Germans. These five men faced over 800 German troops and multiple attempts to be captured and were national heroes in the face of the Germans. Unfortunately, with the death of such an important man in Hitler’s regime retaliation was necessary and the town of Lidice was flattened to the ground. I find it so hard to believe of all the sacred places in Europe that were destroyed in the name of War. I think it’s so poignant that the troops sought refugee in a church. I mean that is what the actual building of a church is supposed to be; a place where people come when they need help, guidance, and support. It’s hard to see so many of these historically rich buildings, pieces of art, and so much more that was destroyed because of hate and violence.
I am so amazed everyday at the amount of history that the Czech Republic is involved with and America has no idea! It doesn’t seem fair that many times America was so close to being able to help and unfortunately the Russians came and ruined everything. Learning all of this new information has made me want to continue being informed with European issues and even begin to look into different political, social, and economic news.