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Vestibule
As you enter the Cathedral through the main doors there is a
large wooden carved statue of St. Agnes, virgin and martyr in the vestibule
between the two sets of main doors. St. Agnes is depicted holding a lamb and
palm branch, symbolic of her virginity and martyrdom. This statue once
occupied a fifteen foot niche high up in the sanctuary wall behind the main altar.
An archway to the left leads into the tower vestibule. From here a tiled
stairway leads to the choir loft twenty one feet above the church floor
level. The stairway is enriched by a beautiful stained glass window
representing St. Cecilia, patroness of church music.
Above the statue is a special rose window, called a
titular window, originally
from the marble church, depicting in rich colors the life and
martyrdom of St. Agnes. A titular window portrays the life of the patron or
patroness of a particular church. Above the stone space between the doors, with the
radiance of stained glass as a background, is a small deftly carved stone statue
of the Child Jesus, the Light of the World, with
His hand raised in benediction. At the foot of the statue is the baptismal font
from the marble church which now serves as the central holy
water font for those entering the Cathedral.
The entire space opposite the entrance of the main vestibule is taken up with a
lofty screen of richly molded oak tracery, through the glass of which can be
obtained glimpses of the sixty eight foot ceiling of the nave. Below the
tracery five pairs of paneled oak doors lead to the nave of the inspiring
edifice.
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