By the time you read this our church group of 46 will have said “Arrivederci” to Florence and Rome. The final stop on our “Bible and Art” tour was the Basilica of Santa Croce, where legend suggests that St. Francis of Assisi laid the cornerstone. Michelangelo, Galileo and Dante are all buried here, along with many other famous Italians.
I was overwhelmed by the towering strength of the massive columns and the piercing radiance of the narrow stained glass chancel windows that enveloped us as we entered. It was like stepping from the ordinary into the extraordinary in a split second. Then my eye was drawn to the timber roof, which reminded me of ours – so warm and inviting while at the same time breathtakingly beautiful. It ushers you into the divine.
That’s when Mike Graves started describing how this gothic church is designed in the shape of the cross and he pointed to the nave of the church. Why is it called the nave he asked us? It’s called the nave, as in Navy, because the shape of the church is like an upside down ship that provides protection for us.
