The Shrine of the Blessed Mother is a sacred space devoted to an icon of the Catholic Church, the Virgin Mary. The shrine is a space dedicated to meditation and prayer, with an altar and Stations of the Cross to make the space almost church-like in its functionality, if not in its appearance. The Shrine of the Blessed Mother is located at the very edge of South Oakland overlooking the Parkway (Interstate 376) and the Monongahela River in what is effectively someone’s backyard. The space has been repurposed from its original function as a living space for someone living in South Oakland, and is now a space where anyone can come to pray and find some peace amidst the traffic noise wafting up from the highway below. In this essay I will explore the alternative spaces of worship in the city of Pittsburgh through a detailed analysis of the ways the Shrine of the Blessed Mother is used, perceived, and conceived by visitors in comparison to traditional Christian worship spaces. By referencing space theorist Edward Soja and theologian Philip Sheldrake, I will discuss in depth how the designation of this green space as a Shrine affects its function and use, and how the Shrine as a rather unconventional sacred space pushes the limits of what we would consider a religious space based on previous lived experience and conceptions about what a shrine should be.
In order to provide a working vocabulary for the rest of my discussion, I would like to introduce the Trialectic of Space as described by Edward Soja. Edward Soja is a space theorist who proposes three categories that we can use to categorize our understanding of space. These categories are not distinct from each other. Rather, they are depicted by Soja as a swirl, which represents that each of these categories interacts with and influences the others; we cannot have one of these categories without the other two. The three categories are Perceived, Conceived, and Lived space (Soja). Perceived space is the concrete space that exists in this physical world (Soja). For example, the perceived space of a Christian church would be the altar, the pews, the stained glass windows, and the people sitting inside. Conceived space is a projection of our internal thoughts onto the perceived space that we are standing in (Soja). To continue the church example, conceived space would include someone’s expectations of what a church should look like from movies. This also includes projections of negative or positive feelings about churches based on experiences throughout your life. For example, if you did not grow up in the Christian faith, your conceived space upon entering a particular church would be very different from a devout Christian, even if you both were visiting for the first time. Lived space is the personal experience of being in the space (Soja). These would include people’s experiences of masses and sacraments in the church or that time you met a cute guy/girl on the steps outside. Lived space is a combination of the physical space that you are in with your imagined ideas of the space, as well as the actual events that are happening at that instant in time. These categories provide a vocabulary for a discussion of alternative worship spaces in the form of the Shrine of the Blessed Mother, and how it compares to a traditional Christian worship site like a cathedral.
Perceived:
In his article “Placing the Sacred: Transcendence and the City”, Philip Sheldrake describes the twelfth century shift in the central area of worship of the Christian Church being located in a rural area to a grander urban space. The image of the Garden of Eden as paradise was replaced by the ideal of the New Jerusalem as represented by grand Gothic Cathedrals (Sheldrake 247). “Church buildings had to be more impressive than all others in a city” (247). This mode of thought can still be seen today in Pittsburgh monuments such as St. Paul’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Oakland which is quite imposing with its twin spires. This particular building encompasses many of the hallmarks of traditional Christian worship spaces. A few of the perceived hallmarks include crucifixes, statues of saints and Jesus, and stained glass windows.
The Shrine of the Blessed Mother has several hallmarks of a traditional worship space and yet, it does not seem to fit the bill entirely. There are the requisite statues of Mary and a crucifix above the altar that was previously used for serving Mass. The shrine even features a whole row of pew-like benches that visitors can sit on if they do not want to kneel in front of Mary. How then is the space perceived as an alternative sacred space? The location of the shrine entirely outdoors makes it decidedly unique for a public shrine. Private home or street shrines are common in countries with robust Catholic populations (Sheldrake 248), as well as in the yards of Italian Roman Catholics in the United States of America (see "A Personal Story..." for more details). Additionally, the setting of the Shrine on the edge of the cliff makes the space seem isolated, while traditionally, churches are located in the middle of the community they serve. This difference can be explained by the function of the shrine as a get-away from the bustle of Oakland. The Shrine of the Blessed Mother is a peaceful retreat to nature (amidst some traffic-themed white noise).
Conceived:
Conceived space regarding traditional worship spaces can come in any variety depending on the person who is imagining the space. However, these conceptions tend to fall into either of two categories: a church as cold and imposing or warm and inviting. A cold and imposing view would focus on echoey stone walls and the stuffy opulence of a half-lit gilded ceiling. In contrast, a warm and inviting conception of a church would involve an abundance of candles illuminating a full church decorated lovingly for the Christmas season. Either of these views could be applied to a traditional worship space, coloring the perceived space with the emotional imaginings that depend on one’s experience with the Christian faith and churches. Likewise, the Shrine of the Blessed Mother could be imagined in a positive or negative light, but there are some ideas that I believe many Catholics would apply if asked to identify what they imagined in any given shrine.
In the specific context of a shrine, a Catholic would expect relics, pieces of a deceased saint’s clothing or skin. While the presence of these relics holds religious significance, they often lend a rather eerie feeling to the building. Personally, on my first visit to the Shrine of the Blessed Mother, I expected a small building with stained glass windows, cherished relics, a chapel for services, and a full-time staff to keep the place up and running. This conceived notion of the space was far from reality. The building was replaced by a grassy yard and the stained glass windows by the open sky. The reality of the space was very different from my preconceived notions about what a shrine should be, but that just made the Shrine of the Blessed Mother a pleasant surprise.
Lived:
Growing up as a Roman Catholic, I have had countless lived experiences in numerous churches across several states. I have participated in sacraments, weekly masses, and interacted with many people in traditional sacred spaces. Most of the time, churches are welcoming, warm places for me to find rest after a busy week. However, I have also experienced loss and heartbreak in a church after the death of a loved one. Sheldrake describes best the lived experiences that the faithful have within the walls of traditional sacred spaces, specifically cathedrals. “Cathedrals were repositories for the cumulative memory and constantly renewed aspirations of the community. Even today, to enter such a building is to engage with centuries of human pain, achievements, hopes, and ideals” (Sheldrake 247).
My lived experiences with the Shrine of the Blessed Mother have been twofold. The first time I entered the Shrine, I was with our Secret Pittsburgh class on the third field trip of the year. The second time was by myself, almost three months later. The difference in temperature and my company was not the only thing dissimilar about my experiences at the shrine. When I was alone, I was able to appreciate fully the humility and simplicity of this small, grassy shrine hanging onto the side of a cliff in South Oakland. There was something so beautiful about how unpretentious this space was in comparison to the vaulted ceilings and lengthy aisles of cathedrals and grand churches. “Here, beauty is linked to an ability to evoke wonder and to grant access to the ‘sacred’” (Sheldrake 256). The opulence and grandeur of those traditional worship spaces have their place, but this shrine stole my heart with its persistence. Somehow, this statue of the Virgin Mary continues to exist and provide a way for visitors to experience a sacred space at the edge of a neighborhood well-known for its accommodation of college debauchery.
Travelling to the shrine is almost a pilgrimage in itself, since you have to make your way through the sometimes gritty, often grimy streets of South Oakland to find this piece of paradise. There may not be amazing stained glass windows to gaze at, and it may not boast stunning architecture, but the shrine of the Blessed Mother finds its own way to “help us perceive pathways to the sacred” (Sheldrake 256). Maybe the Shrine of the Blessed Mother does not meet the criteria of a traditional sacred space in what is perceived, conceived and lived, but there is something about the space that brings one into the presence of God. In this way it is its own unique kind of sacred space. The outdoor location and the perch above the parkway provide a kind of white noise over the green space, almost like the hum of a distant choir. The isolation and meditative air offers the visitor an opportunity to reach out in a personal way to Mary and through her, to God. Pittsburgh is a city of churches of many denominations, but the Shrine of the Blessed Mother proves that sacred space does not have to be confined within the walls of a sanctuary.
… [F]or Christians the ‘sacred’ is embodied in people and their everyday existence as much as in fixed sacred sites. For this reason, Church buildings make spiritual-theological sense ultimately in relation to the human community and the quality of sacred life that they encapsulate and enable. For this reason, sacred space also denies itself in a way. Christianity is a religion without spatial limits.” (Sheldrake 248)
Works Cited
Alliance, Pittsburgh Neighborhood. An Atlas of the Oakland Neighborhood of Pittburgh 1977. Data. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 1977. Print.
Archival Photograph. 1931. James R. Cox Papers, 1923-1950. 695.0102.FC. Archives Services Center, University of Pittsburgh. Online. 3Accessed 0 October 2015.
Sheldrake, Philip. “Placing the Sacred: Transcendence and the City.” Literature and Theology, 21. 3. Oxford University Press, 2007. Web. Accessed 16 September 2015.
Soja, Edward. Thirdspace: Journeys to Lost Angeles and Other Real-and-Imagined Places. Cambridge : Blackwell Publishing Inc., 1996. Print.