Sadly, Sharon Nordley, who had been in Abidjan since before I left for Bamako and Ouagadougou, was scheduled to leave the following day. Sharon lives in France, but lived in Senegal for many years, and now works as a translation consultant.
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| Rooftop views from the SIL Center |
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| I walk by these apartments frequently when I take my early evening strolls |
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| You can see the slender minaret of the Grande Mosquée about dead center behind the apartment building* |
As Sharon hadn't ever visited the Cathedral in her few visits to Abidjan, the two of us took a taxi there and met a Cathedral docent who had been volunteering his services for some 45 years. He gave us a tour, for my second visit to the site, which greatly enhanced our time spent there. It was lovely, sunny Saturday afternoon, but an extremely hot, steamy one, and there was an enormous outdoor mass in progress... Even under the shady of the semi-permanent canopies, I don't know how the people endured the heat...
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| Stations of the cross |
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| the images are in glazed, painted terra cotta and were done by an Italian artist |
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| Sharon and our Cathedral guide |
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| The bell tower that forms a cross or Christ with arms outstretched |
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| Note that the "church" trails behind the cross like a veil |
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| The mass in progress outside |
This time I came away with a better picture of the structure after talking with our guide. The cross, or Christ, or the Trinity (another interpretation of the bell tower) overlooks the Bay of Cocody, and, indeed the country of Côte d'Ivoire, with outstretched arms. The cords attached to it both lift the weight off the structure, and also symbolize Christ leading the church, the "bride of Christ." This is because, as seen from the air, the building is intended to appear like a huge bridal veil. I began to appreciate the architecture more and more because I could now see the symbolism involved. In fact, Catholic symbols abound here. The shape of the building is triangular (think Trinity) and the baptistry has 3 basins, and there are 3 confessionals...
On one side of the edifice, the huge glass mural is dedicated to the life of St. Paul, after whom the Cathedral is named,
and on the other side is one of the introduction of Christianity to the Côte d'Ivoire in the 19th century.
The mural at the entrance, where the ceiling is lowest, is that of the birth of Christ, as it rises to its highest point over the altar itself.
After spending time here this second go-round, I was admiring, and perhaps, understanding, the Cathedral more and more. On another level though, given the immense crowds of Ivoirians outside, listening to contemporary Catholic music, it struck me a being very much like the medieval churches with their representations of the Biblical scenes and symbols for those who couldn't read. Here, supporting Bible texts were everywhere, citing the relevant passage for each work of art to an audience perhaps less familiar with what it represented.
The stations of the cross, found along the walls of an exterior stairway leading up to the entrance, portrayed the Passion of Christ. Similarly, to the right and left of the altar, mosaics depicted the Resurrection of Jesus and the Pentecost (when the disciples received the Holy Spirit), in visual ways that the audience might more easily understand.
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| the Pentecost |
On the other hand, as it was insufferably hot, and humid, we decided to limit our visit to the Cathedral alone, and not try and take in anything else that afternoon. We stopped outside the gates for bottled water, and I noticed that the books in the Cathedral bookstore ran the gamut from Thérèse de Lisieux to Stormie Omartian!
Speaking of books, Laurel Miller just introduced me to a British academic library program called Langham Literature, which provides titles at reduced rates, and also has a special grant program for theological materials to qualifying institutions. We are now eligible for £125 of free materials ! Not a vast sum, I realize, but here every CFA counts. Martine Solomiac has already submitted her requests...
Meanwhile, as I count my remaining days here, I have learned the the massive Salon du Livre in Paris has been cancelled this year due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19). It occurs every year around this time, and I have used it in the past to buy children's books for Fina. I had hoped to attend when I passed through Paris on my return. It seemed India might have been the featured country this year, judging from the number of exhibitors from that country, as most exhibitors are regional French publishers, francophone countries, those with substantial French-speaking populations, or former French colonies. Countries like Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, French Polynesia, New Caledonia or even the Island of Réunion. There are usually small booths for the smaller presses, though, including those representing francophone African countries like the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, or Sénégal, and some French publishers that have African imprints, like Hachette. With the exception of the "featured" country, non-French language books are virtually absent, except those from countries like the UK, Spain, or Germany, although a number of Eastern-European countries seemed to be attempting a booth or two this year, as are, strangely, Qatar and the UAE. The monolingual USA is absent.
I will miss the workshops related to libraries, literacy, listening to authors reading from their works and the author signings, and the ateliers dedicated the the book trade in general, always a bonus. But since such huge numbers of people attend, this is probably a wise decision. Fortunately my sister Debbie and her husband, returned recently from Sicily (via Frankfurt, not Rome, thank goodness) without any major hassles. So far this continent has been somewhat spared... We will see...
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| The Salon du Livre in years past |
* to listen to a short 10-second clip of the call to prayer at the Grande Mosquée, click here
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