This is one of the most magnificent buildings I've seen in my life and everyone should go see it even if you're not religious. It's incredible the vision the architect had over 100 years ago.
>This is one of the most magnificent buildings I've seen in my life and everyone should go see it even if you're not religious.
On the flipside, I remember thinking it was a kitsch architectural icon and my family was bullying me into going to visit by dictating my plans while solo traveling.
When I went inside, I had a brief moment where I was struck by awe, and wondered if I should consider converting to Catholicism.
> wondered if I should consider converting to Catholicism
You’re not alone. This is one very conscious motivation for the beauty of Catholic art (not the only motive, but a very real one). Beauty is intelligible and leads the mind upward, toward its ultimate source. Beauty is understood as a transcendental, along with the good, the true, and unity, which is to say, being understood from different perspectives.
In other words, beauty has been an instrument for leading people toward conversion for a long time. There’s even the term “apostolate of beauty” [0].
