A feast of Stephens worthy of our praise
One month from today, the turkey and ham will be behind us. It will be December 26, St Stephen’s Day, named after the saint deemed to be the first Christian martyr. ‘Is that who St Stephen’s Green is named after?’ someone asked me recently. Well, yes, in a way. My understanding is that Dublin’s St Stephen’s Green took its name from what was formerly known as St Stephen’s leper hospital, just off the Green. Later it was Mercer’s hospital before the building then became part of the Royal College of Surgeons. Meanwhile, the currentday Church of Ireland Pepper-cannister church on Upper Mount Street – real name, St Stephen’s – adopted the name of its former city centre neighbour.
I love visiting churches when I travel. And so, in honour of St Stephen whose feast day we will be marking in exactly a month’s time, here are a few beauties named after him, and definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in these particular parts of the world.
The saint’s hand
This time last year – this very weekend in fact – I was in Budapest. It was my first visit to the Hungarian city and it was something of a revelation. I hadn’t been expecting the grandeur of the streetscapes, the stunning parliament building facing on to the Danube – or the beautiful cathedral.
It took 500 years to build, partly because its dome was destroyed in a storm and necessitated starting from scratch again, but it was completed in 1905.
Famous for housing the right hand of St Stephen himself (you can put a few coins in a slot and flick a switch to get a better view!), the cathedral also acts, at this time of year, as a terrific backdrop to Budapest’s main Christmas market which spills out all over the square in front of the cathedral. And the city views from the cathedral’s dome are breathtaking.
His life in frescoes
In Bologna, the Basilica Santo Stefano is not actually the city’s cathedral. It’s not actually a single church either. Originally a complex of seven churches, the infrastruc- ture has been shifted around over the centuries and now encompasses four churches, the Church of the Crucifix and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre probably being the most notable.
In the former you’ll see walls covered with wonderful frescoes which depict the life of St Stephen. Frescoes, in fact, are a feature of the complex as a whole, and there’s also an underlying connection here between the different churches that relate to various elements that had particular significance during the Passion of Christ. In one church you’ll also find a number of columns, with one deemed to be exactly the height of Jesus.
In another there’s a natural spring – said to represent the River Jordan. A truly fascinating complex in a city that offers so much to the visitor.
Renaissance beauty
On the island of Hvar in Croatia, one of the stand-out buildings is definitely the Cathedral of St Stephen, right on the main square in the town. Although built on the site of a sixth century church, the cathedral you see before you today was completed in the 17th century. Earlier gems exist within its walls, including its 15th century pulpit.
Known for its triple aisle and its lovely old Renaissance bell-tower, St Stephen’s in Hvar also boasts a fine collection of art.
And you can sit and sip coffee in one of the cafes on the square while admiring the view of St Stephen’s, right beside you.
Australians in awe
Down Under, meanwhile, it’s in Brisbane that you’ll find a fine monument to St Stephen in the shape of that city’s cathedral. Built between 1864 and 1922, it was extended in 1989. Famous for its stained glass windows – including the ‘Mayne’ window by our own Harry Clarke.
With a great musical tradition that includes three choirs, the cathedral also has a smaller ensemble known as the Schola of St Stephen’s. This professional chamber ensemble performs at Sunday Mass every week and is one of its great attractions.
Give Vienna a whirl
It’s the steep, tiled roof that always springs first to mind when I think of Vienna’s great Gothic cathedral – the Stephansdom. The roof, multi-coloured and depicting the Austrian eagle, is more than 100metres in length and covered with 230,000 tiles. It is stunning – as is the entrance to the cathedral, known as the Giant’s Door.
On top of its religious importance, Stephansdom is also of huge historical significance, and was only saved from destruction during World WarII, for example, because the officer commanded to destroy it disobeyed the order. It has also witnessed countless weddings and funerals of the great and the good, many musicians among them: Antonio Vivaldi was buried from here in 1741 while Mozart married Constance Weber in Stephansdom almost four decades later.
A great cathedral in a great city. And, of all those dedicated to St Stephen that I have visited, definitely my favourite. ÷Listen in on Thursdays as Ros talks Travel with Ivan Yates on the Hard Shoulder, Newstalk 106108fm, 4pm-7pm.