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  Archdiocese of Baltimore
  5200 N. Charles St., Baltimore MD 21210

  
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The Spirit Empowers Us To Be Church
Altar of Pope Saint Pius X

This altar is dedicated to Pope Saint Pius X, who sat in the Chair of Peter from 1903 through 1914 and was the last pope to be canonized before the building of this Cathedral.

He had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and promoted the practice of frequent reception of Communion. He also lowered the age at which one is able to receive Communion, to the age of reason (now usually considered about seven years of age). It is especially appropriate then, that this altar be used to house the Blessed Sacrament during Sunday liturgies.

Across the back of the bay is Pope Pius' motto. Translated from Latin, it calls us: "To restore all things in Christ."
  
The carvings in the altar symbolize the workings of the Trinity: Father, Son and Spirit, through the workings of the Church. Saint Pius X is noted for: (upper left) the reception of daily bread, (upper right) Canon Law (codification of the Church's law), which stemmed the tide (lower left) of the philosophy of modernism that was being used to replace God, and (lower right) the advancement of the study of Scripture.

 

The Feast of All Saints and the Gospel readings from the Sundays after
Pentecost provide the major themes for the window above this altar.

 

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  © 2001 Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Archdiocese of Baltimore