Author: Daniel

Of all the places I visited in France, my favorite might have been the tiny medieval village of Eguisheim.

Today, we focus on Saints Pierre-et-Paul Church. As is the case in many French villages in the Alsace, Saints Pierre-et-Paul towers over the town. Here, that makes it the perfect spot for storks to nest, as you can see from one of the photos.

But the most inspiring sight here was the vierge ouvrante, or Opening Virgin, a specific type of statue of Mary unique to France, Germany and Spain between the 13th and 16th centuries. As described by Aleteia, “during most of the year, they looked like ‘regular’ statuettes, made of wood and ivory. But on certain occasions, such as Marian or Trinitarian festivities, they would be opened, revealing a work of art within the work of art.”

At Saints Pierre-et-Paul, the Opening Virgin is a polychrome wood sculpture. It’s permanently half-opened revealing some of the art inside. I can’t quite explain why, but it’s easily one of the most mesmerizing pieces of religious artwork I’ve ever seen.

I spent the past week in Germany, Switzerland and France on a business trip turned getaway with my wife. I’ll highlight some of the more interesting churches I visited along the way.

We’ll start today with a grab bag of sorts, just random photos from Germany and France.

Our adventure began in Buhl, home of St. Peter and Paul. Alas, it was too late to step inside. The church towers majestically over the village.

In the wonderfully named Baden Baden, we took in Stiftskirche and Alt-Katholische (Old Catholic) churches.

Finally, we ventured into France (which we’ll cover in more detail over the next few days), bringing us to the charming village of Riquewihr to peer inside Katholische St.-Margareten-Kirche. And a day-long trip of Alsace culminated with a visit to Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle, which naturally included a chapel.

Once again, son Ian has one-upped me.

Today, as he continued his stay in Columbia, he toured Cundinamerica and the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira.

The Salt Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church built in a salt mine 200 meters underground. It’s a pilgrimage site and considered one of the country’s great architectural works.

I’m feeling an odd mixture of pride and jealousy right about now.

My oldest son, Ian, just sent me photos from Columbia, specifically Santuario de Nuestra Senora del Rosario de Las Lajas. It’s a church I mentioned in the book while writing about man’s most amazing places of worship, but I have never been blessed to see in person. He beat me to it this morning.

As you can see, if the exterior is not the most beautiful Catholic Church and setting anywhere in the world, I can’t imagine what would exceed it.

Of course, his reason for being in Columbia softens any of that sinful jealousy and replaces it with a healthy kind of pride. He’s on a two-month stint in the country for his work as a refugee officer for the Department of Homeland Security, interviewing men and women who are seeking asylum in the United States to escape violence and other threats in their home countries. It’s incredibly meaningful work he’s doing and I’m in awe of the man he has become.

For more on my experiences, visit http://www.52masses.com.

Rhonda Ortiz, an author based out of Michigan, has been running a yearlong series of interviews with fellow Catholic authors. She graciously invited me to participate in this worthwhile endeavor.

You can find our conversation at Instagram here or on Facebook here.

Thanks so much to Rhonda for including me.