St. James and His Proto-Cathedral

Saint James - Who Was He?

James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee or as Saint James the Greater was was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus, Saint James is the patron saint of Spain and died in AD 44 in Jerusalem. James was one of only three apostles whom Jesus selected to bear witness to his Transfiguration.
The Red Cross of St. James.
Scallop or Cockle Shell found on an important day in SJ's life.
St. James' emblem is the scallop or "cockle" shell, and pilgrims to his shrine often wear shells on their hats or clothes. The French term for a scallop is "coquille St. Jacques," which means "cockle (or mollusk) of [St.] James". There are scallop shells on one of the buildings of the complex of Vancouver's St. James Proto-Cathedral, which Mother Joseph helped design and build.
The traditional pilgrimage to the grave of the Saint, known as the "Way of St. James," has been the most popular pilgrimage for Western European Catholics from the Early Middle Ages onwards. His feast day is celebrated on July 25. When that day falls on a Sunday it is considered a "Holy Year" and a special east entrance into the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Galicia, Spain where his remains are interred is opened for the occasion.
The site of his martyrdom is located within the Armenian Apostolic Cathedral of St. James in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem that was built in the 12th Century. Specifically, the Chapel of St. James the Great, located to the left of the sanctuary is where King Agrippa ordered him to be beheaded (Acts 12:1–2). His head is buried under the altar, marked by a piece of red marble and surrounded by six votive lamps. Pretty metal!
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teaches that James has been resurrected and that in 1829 he—along with the resurrected Peter and the translated John—visited Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and restored the priesthood authority with apostolic succession to earth.
A vintage Mormon souvenir brick from the town of Nauvoo, IL.
The first time Andrea visited the St. James Cathedral, she picked up on some of the St. James symbolism on one of the buildings that SJ missed along with the cockle shells... oak leaves. In some Wiccan traditions, the Oak King and the Holly King are seen as dual aspects of the Horned God.... Pan. If you're into Hellier like we are, you know all about Pan and the Green Man.
SJ's replica of Michelangelo's "Florentine Man", or Green Man, wall sculpture. Done as part of his design to honor Lorenzo de Medici for the Laurentian Library in Florence.
"VINE" art print by Celtic and Pagan artist Maxine Miller. Janet gave this to SJ for their birthday while we were having lunch at the Providence Academy in September 2020.

St. James Proto-Cathedral, Vancouver Washington.

The St. James Cathedral was founded to serve the Quebec Missionaries whom came to the Fort Vancouver area in the 1830s. The discharged Hudson Bay fur traders were begging for priests, and Dr. John McLoughlin's letters to Bishop Augustin-Magliore Blanchet in Montreal led the Catholics to send missionaries to settle the area. These early missionaries included Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart. The original cathedral, a wooden structure located over near Fort Vancouver, was dedicated in 1846. There was a land dispute that started in 1853 that took 40 years over to resolve and went clear to the Supreme court. The Church lost, so the parish was moved to the current location, the land was purchased in 1872, a year after the Hidden Brick Company was founded. The new location's lot on 12th Street had been acquired by Mother Joseph and transferred to the Diocese after Blanchet trusted her with $5000 to find a site for the new church. It was constructed 1884-1885. On June 21, 1889 someone burnt down the old cathedral, but no one was ever charged in the crime. Priceless paintings that Bishop Blanchet brought back from his Missionary travels were saved from the fire, and six of them are still hanging in the current Proto Cathedral, with one in the Rectory.
The Original site of the St. James Mission on Fort Vancouver Way.
The closest landmark is the grey Artillery Barracks (600 E. Hathaway) to the rear right.
The first humble St. James Church at Fort Vancouver. Fort Vancouver grew around the Catholic mission site.
Cathedral records indicate that somewhere in Belgium there is a church that is a duplicate of the St. James Proto-Cathedral, with the exception of the spires... which were rumored to be reworked with the assistance of Mother Joseph! It isn't surprising this is one of Andrea's favorite parts of the building. An initial search did not identify an identical sister church, so her twin remains a bit of a mystery for now. Nova Scotia, Canada-born Architect Donald McKay was "officially" credited with the building's design, but the plans likely came from the local Diocese's Catholic priests' travels throughout Mexico and Europe.
Mother Joseph's Patron, Saint Joseph, ready to serve his Holy Family with his saw.
Translation: "I go into the altar of God, who gives joy to my youth."
Mother Frances Cabrini, one of Mother Joseph's later contemporaries is inside the entrance.
The first time SJ went inside the church (on Mother Joseph's birthday) they were immediately moved to tears just walking inside and seeing St. Joseph wielding his trusty saw. Sitting in the pews Mother Joseph was rumored to also help finish and carve, listening to the soft "pops" as the old wood settled in the warm spring light shining through the jewel-covered windows was nothing short of a magical experience. It felt like traveling back to an 1800's Cathedral in France, without leaving town.
The stained-glass windows of the Cathedral were made by the Franz Mayer Co. of Munich, Germany, then shipped to San Francisco before being delivered to Vancouver. The altar and Stations of the Cross inside the church are hand carved and from Belgium, just like the Stations of the Cross and the wood on the altar railings in the Providence Academy. There is a plethora of French symbolism (including plenty of fleur de lis) everywhere you look. SJ and Andrea are now both completely obsessed with this Proto-Cathedral. It is a living, sacred Van Gogh painting that Mother Joseph helped bring to life... located right in the middle of Hidden Brick Central.
The original St. James Church bell that was cast in 1854 is outside on the Cathedral grounds. Also outside in the tranquil gardens surrounding the church you'll find a sculpture called "Our Lady of Vancouver" which portrays Mother Mary holding the Cathedral in Her hand. The grounds outside the Cathedral are unlocked (UPDATE...not during Covid) so you can walk through the peaceful brick path and enjoy the public art. The Cathedral's website advises that the 12th Street doors unlock before Mass, but the west side door is open M-F 9-4 and the public are invited inside. Mother Joseph even welcomed SJ in, so we can guarantee she welcomes you too... whoever you are. That's sort of her whole thing. Important Note: There are no inside bathrooms in the Cathedral, as plumbing didn't exist when the Cathedral was built (which means no public bathrooms due to Covid) so plan your Plague Visit accordingly!

Bishop Augustin-Magloire Blanchet's Catholic Ladder

he first Catholic mass in Vancouver happened on November 25, 1838 at the Fort Vancouver stockade. The original parish consisted of 76 Catholics, mostly French Canadian and Iroquois men, women and children. Bishop Blanchet had a deep interest in working with Natives, and created a teaching tool called "The Catholic Ladder," a chart to indoctrinate the Native population into Catholic faith. A replica of the Catholic Ladder also still sits outside the rectory on a large wooden pole. While intentions of the Catholics initially may have been good, the Indigenous did not benefit from their relationship with Catholic pioneers from France. This is part of what I hope to detail in the book I am writing about the history of Hidden bricks.
Marble floor inside the St. James Cathedral.
Blanchet's final (1859) version of the Catholic Ladder.
Front of rectory showing the wood "Catholic Ladder" teaching tool.
Cathedral rectory from 13th Street.
Castle-like details on the side of the rectory.

Mother Joseph's Artisan Brickwork and Links to La Camas.

The cut basalt stone that makes up the foundation of the St. James Proto-Cathedral came from Camas, Washington. Similarly designed, the foundations of the Providence Academy and the Fort Vancouver Post Hospital were constructed in the same Mother-Joseph-approved manner. The gorgeous uniformly-baked cherry red bricks making up the Proto-Cathedral are of course, Hiddens. The Fort's Post Hospital was not built by Mother Joseph and the quality of the foundation work is inferior to that of the Academy or the Proto-Cathedral as a result. This is partially due to moving the Hospital's building 614 to the current Post Hospital Site to accommodate the construction of the I-5 Freeway.
Some of the Cathedral's brick embellishment work is credited to MoJo.
Fort Vancouver Post Hospital foundation, 2020.
Post Hospital Balcony foundation repair showing Hidden bricks.
St. James Proto-Cathedral foundation.
Providence Academy foundation, still solid after all these years.
It is unclear as to exactly how involved Mother Joseph was with the building of the St. James Proto-Cathedral, but she was absolutely involved in a number of ways. She contributed to the planning process and designed some of the amazing brick embellishments on the outside of the Cathedral at a minimum. Mother Joseph also casted a wax statue containing a first class relic of Saint Lucien in the basement of the Providence Academy (just down the street), using real hair from her orphans like she did with the Baby Jesus figures she made in her workshop there. On the sidewalks surrounding the Cathedral on 12th Street there's a series of mandalas about the church's history. There are two that honor our friend Mother Joseph's contributions there.
The door on the side altar reveals a wax cast of the martyr St. Lucien that Mother Joseph sculpted. It contains a first class relic and is open during the month of November.

Mother Joseph's Special Relationship with "Little Eddie".

Bishop Edward O’Dea's family settled in the Portland area in 1866 from Dorchester, Massachusetts, and became fast friends with Mother Joseph. When Edward was a child he accompanied Mother Joseph on her late-night inspection tours of St. Vincent’s Hospital that she was building. After the rest of the workers had gone home, Edward held MoJo's lantern so she could see as she worked long hours after dark. He also confided in her at a young age that he wanted to be a priest.
She then did everything to help support and encourage his religious calling, and her lessons and attention to detail had a major influence on his life. Mother Joseph herself hand embroidered his vestments and slippers for his consecration as Bishop on Sept. 8, 1896 at the St. James Cathedral in Vancouver.
Bishop "Little Eddie" O'Dea, a friend of Mother Joseph, was one of the youngest Catholic Bishops on record.
Mother Joseph built the St. Vincent's Hospital in Portland. "Little Eddie" held her lantern for her at night when she did her inspections.
Jubilee button from the St. Vincent's Hospital.
Current site of luxury condos where the St. Vincent's Hospital stood in Portland, Oregon.

Moving the Diocese to Nisqually.

Bishop O’Dea recognized early on that Seattle was becoming a booming commercial center on the West Coast, but Mother Joseph was vehemently against moving the diocese there from Vancouver. "Little Eddie" waited until just after Mother Joseph's death in January 1902 to travel to Seattle to select a site for what was now to be the new head of the church and Diocese. Mother Joseph was so influential that her friend the Bishop waited until her death to move the head of the church away from Vancouver. O’Dea presided at Mother Joseph's funeral that was held at the Cathedral of St. James the Greater she helped build in Vancouver. She is buried at her namesake Mother Joseph Cemetery, which is still the Proto-Cathedral’s parish cemetery.
One of the lessons O'Dea learned from his mentor Mother Joseph was that you sometimes had to be creative to raise funds to build projects for Jesus. Having acquired a site for the Seattle Cathedral, O'Dea reached out to his friend Father Casey who relocated to Portland from St. Paul, Minnesota. Casey arrived in Seattle in the summer of 1903 to begin planning his first fundraiser for O’Dea.
Beginning on October 19, 1903, the Cathedral Fair was a huge civic event. It was held at the Armory at Third and Union and was kicked off by Seattle Mayor Humes himself. It lasted for ten days, and was open each day from 11:30 am until at least midnight. The Fair offered attractions including an ice-cream bar, a candy shop, a cigar stand, a FORTUNE TELLER(!), full-service restaurant, and even a country store. The entire city of Seattle, particularly non-Catholics with money to spend, was invited to come and eat, drink, and be entertained.
Also of note, this historically noted event was run almost entirely by women, with hundreds of dedicated volunteers from all over the diocese. Having raised the capital, Bishop O'Dea then dedicated Seattle's brand new St. James Cathedral in 1907. Bishop Edward O'Dea died on Christmas Day in 1932 in Seattle, just two days after celebrating the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the Catholic priesthood. He was 76 years old. His final words were noted as "God bless you all."
Seattle was desperate for a larger Catholic cathedral in the area.

The First Incorrupt Bishop of the New World.

While digging into the history of this Cathedral, SJ discovered an incredible story about an event that seems to have been purposefully forgotten involving Bishop Augustin Blanchet, who first escorted Mother Joseph and 4 other brave nuns to Fort Vancouver back in 1856. We discovered recently that Blanchet also has a history in Sault St. Marie, Michigan - where Michigan Paracon happens ever year. (Why? Because NOTHING IS REAL!)
The Diocese of Nisqually was first renamed the Diocese of Seattle in 1907 and then renamed again as the Archdiocese of Seattle in 1951. In June 1955, Seattle’s Archbishop Connolly instructed Father Joseph Doogan, the head of Catholic Cemeteries in Seattle, to transfer the remains of the Archbishop’s four predecessors to a new mausoleum at Holyrood Cemetery in north Seattle (now known as the city of Shoreline).

You'll have a better time on this website (and maybe with life) if you just roll with this.

The remains of the first two Diocese's bishops were still in Vancouver in the crypt inside the St. James Cathedral. According to Father Doogan, Father Dillon (the pastor of St. James at the time) nor any of the people who had gathered on 12th Street across from the church to watch the caskets being removed were supportive of the relocation idea. Immediately, rumors started that the Bishop's bodies were "stolen" in the middle of the night, but the actual disinterment ended up being even stranger than the falsehood.
Father Doogan wrote that he, Jerome Healy (Superintendent of Holyrood Cemetery), and George Hoffner (owner of a funeral home in Seattle) went into a H I D D E N crypt area beneath the Cathedral's sanctuary through a secret trap door. (Now that you know about Hidden bricks pay attention to when that word shows up in your life... you may be surprised at the frequency.) Two of the four available slots inside the St. James crypt were occupied - the first by Bishop Aegidius Junger and the second by Bishop Augustin Blanchet.
In full view of the gathered crowd, the men loaded the two caskets into a hearse that was parked at the side of the cathedral. The remains of the first two bishops of Nisqually were then taken to Holyrood Cemetery, left to rest in the mausoleum overnight. The following day Father Doogan and Mr. Healy returned to the mausoleum, accompanied by Father Doogan’s brother John, who was also a priest. Interestingly, John Healy also was then the principal of the recently-opened Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle that was named after Augustin Blanchet, the man they just disinterred.
The men wanted to ensure that the remains were correctly identified to be sealed in their proper places in the new crypt, so the caskets were opened for identification purposes. When the first casket was opened, the three men discovered a large sheet of tin attached to the sides. There was an oval-shaped piece of glass with a matching oval-shaped section of tin at the top where the head should be. A reasonable explanation for that surprise is the sheet of tin was spread out over the bishop’s body with a section cut out at the top for a glass viewing window at the funeral.
When the piece of tin was then peeled back, the men were astonished to see Bishop Augustin Blanchet’s face, somehow completely intact and recognizable! Whether the deceased bishop’s body was incorrupt due to the tin seal, some other aspect of burial, or due to the miracle of Sainthood remains unclear. While incorruption is not a requirement for Sainthood, it can be an indicator of it. Interestingly, the Archdiocese of Seattle has no current plans for pursuing the cause for Blanchet's canonization. This seems like it should be a pretty big deal... is someone trying to cover this up on purpose? Everyone involved that knew Blanchet claimed he would not want anyone to make a big fuss made about it. Blanchet would have been celebrated as the first Incorruptable Bishop of the New World.
Bishop Aegidius Junger's mandala.
Bishop Augustin Blanchet's mandala.
Aside from the actual events back in 1955, this story has one more strange twist to add to the intrigue. The account describing the transfer of the bishops’ bodies was first written by Father Doogan in 1955 immediately after the disinterment. Copies were then sent to both the office at Holyrood Cemetery and the Chancery in downtown Seattle for official records. Years later, however, neither copy could be located! In 1993 Father Doogan wrote up a second report describing the events of 1955; it is from this later retelling that "Latin Mass Magazine" finally discovered and documented the account.
There is definitely something mysterious going on in this church built from Hidden Bricks that is linked to Mother Joseph. It's pretty amazing, so say the least.
Photos of this breathtaking space just don't do it justice.

Father Blanchet Park in Vancouver - Another Synchronicity Bomb.

Father Blanchet Park is in the center of what has now been named the Father Blanchet Neighborhood in honor of the above Incorruptable Augustin Blanchet. Oddly, this small park has landed right in the middle of this Hidden brick investigation, despite not having any bricks in the park. We talk about this unexpected turn of events on Episode Three of Two Witches Podcast.
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