I pushed my cathedral Mass count to an even dozen on Monday thanks to a work trip to the Tampa Bay area. I experienced the liturgy at St. Jude the Apostle, the seat of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.
St. Jude the Apostle was unlike any of my previous cathedral visits. It is not a hundred-plus-year-old worship space like so many diocesan seats. Rather, it dates only to 1963, and that modern aesthetic is quite noticeable, for better or worse. Ornate adornments and dark wood were replaced by a more open concept and ample natural light.
Perhaps its most notable feature are a pair of crosses. The striking Baptismal font is in the form of a cross. So too is the building itself, the design “derived from the Byzantine period of the Eastern Roman Empire and the plan was based on a Latin Cross,” the church’s website says.
That cross is far more obvious from the aerial view. Alas, I was unable to provide that shot with my Iphone.
52 Masses 