Hidden Bricks: Visits to St. James Proto-Cathedral and Grass Valley Park

The St. James Cathedral was founded to serve the Quebec Missionaries whom came to the Fort Vancouver area in the 1830s. The discharged fur traders (the ones making all the orphan babies) were begging the bishop in Montreal for priests. It is important to note the climate at the time was one of extreme fear, as the Whitman Massacre (see here) had just occurred. Things were very tense around then to say the least. 

From 12th Street

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, and so the parish was moved to the current location (the land was purchased in 1872, a year after Hidden Brick Company was founded) instead.

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.

The cornerstone was placed July 24, 1884, the Sunday after the Feast Day of St. James the Greater. 

Somewhere in Belgium there is a church that is a duplicate of St. James, with the exception of the spires! Architect Donald McKay was credited with the building's design, but the plans likely came from the priests travelling through Mexico and Europe. A Google search does not yield an immediate sister church, she remains a mystery.

Yes... the grand old girl is actually a copy!

She has an older sister in Belgium somewhere. I'm looking for her online.

The cut stone that makes up the foundation (a Mother Joseph endorsed idea, also used in the Providence Academy) came from Camas. The red bricks are, of course, Hiddens. The altar and Stations of the cross inside the church are also from Belgium and hand carved.

The foundation and Hidden details.

The grounds outside are unlocked so you can walk through the peaceful brick path and enjoy the public art. The Church website advises the 12th Street doors unlock before Mass, but the west side door is open M-F 9-4, and the public are invited inside. Also, every day but Monday there's mass going on, so it's not hard to get inside here if you want to.

The original St. James bell cast in 1854 that was rung in the Cathedrals of the Nisqually (Seattle) Diocese is outside on the grounds.

The original first mass happened on November 25, 1838 at the Fort Vancouver stockade. The original parish counted 76 Catholics, mostly French Canadian and Iroquois men, women and children. A Priest named Father Blanchet created a teaching tool called "The Catholic Ladder", to indoctrinate the Native population into Catholic faith. A replica still sits outside the rectory here. 

Our Lady of Vancouver outside on the grounds

The Rectory - from 12th Street, a magical little building with castle-like details, 

Outside on 12th Street there's a mandala honoring our friend Mother Joseph. She pops in and out of the Church's early history, noted to have a special relationship with the 3rd Bishop of Nesqually, Edward J. O'Dea. O'Dea donated the statue of St. Patrick to the left side of the altar inside. He was the Bishop at the time of MJ's death in 1902, she called him "Little Eddie." She herself hand embroidered his vestments and slippers he wore at the September 8, 1896 consecration of the Cathedral.

Again, a testament to Mother's Joseph personality is the fact that O'Dea didn't dare move the diocese to the now larger parish in the Seattle area until after her death. Not even the church wanted to go against Mother Joseph's wishes. In 1907 they officially changed the name of the diocese from Nesqually to Seattle. The St. James website laments this stating, "But in the hearts of Vancouver parishioners even today, theirs was the mother church, forever the landmark cathedral for the birthplace of Catholicism in the Northwest."

There's a Mandala dedicated to Mother Joseph outside.

Mother Joseph formed statues cast in wax in the basement of the Providence Academy (I told you, she did EVERYTHING). She shaved hair off of her orphans for this wax statue of St. Lucian and also a statue of Baby Jesus that she made. St. Lucian is hidden inside the Cathedral, resting under the side altar. St. Lucian was a Roman martyr, and the church typically opens the keyhole panel to expose him during the Month of November.  The statue itself is believed to contain some of the relics from St. Lucian's crypt. 

Mother Joseph casted this wax effigy of St. Lucian and used orphan hair in its creation- yikes!

In 2008, the cathedral underwent a massive renovation. Old materials were ripped out and existing architectural features were further highlighted while the wood pews and the altar from Belgium were all refurbished. The biggest change of all was the painting of the blue ceilings and gold stars, designed to remind the parishioners of heaven. It gives me a Van Gogh vibe and I really like it.

Another interesting thing about this church is the high altar itself. Unlike our friends at All Saints Catholic Church who still face the audience for mass, the priests here made a decision to face the altar and the statues of the Blessed Virgin, St. James the Greater and St. Augustine. The church insists on their website that this isn't turning their back on the attendees, but leading prayer by example, and the priest will face and direct the audience at appropriate times.

Van Gogh Vibes

I didn't take a bunch of photos inside as I don't think its cool to be all weird in an active place of worship. You'll have to go see more inside with your own eyeballs, it's pretty cool and no one cared I was there.   

Saturday we went to Grass Valley Park (3211 NW 39th Ave), 14.4 acres in the City of Camas, Washington, a town about 20 minutes east of Vancouver. This newer  park has tennis and basketball courts, a baseball field, and a covered picnic area. The reason for our visit is the old Hidden bricks that have been reclaimed and reused:

Next to the covered picnic area.

There is absolutely nothing remotely spooky about this very normal park in an upper class residential area.

My theory around the bricks is evolving somewhat after visiting all of these sites. I still believe the bricks absolutely contribute to the hauntings. I also have now seen that having reclaimed bricks re-used in new sites does not seem to lead to any documented high strangeness.

Having multiple 1871-1904 Hidden bricks  in my own home (I had four in a stack as an experiment at one point) did not make anything weird happen. It seems like the bricks may have to be still set in the location they were intended to in order to be active - it's all of the old, original buildings where spooky things seem to happen.

I have recently mailed one of these 4 bricks to my bestie Jax on the East Coast. I'll let you know if anything weird happens when she gets it.

I also added one to my altar to see if it changes any of my magickal work.

Brick Mojo

Most "haunted" bricks are the 1871-1904 hand cuts, with the exception of the Carnegie Library/Historical Museum. That location with the unchanged building with the use of the original bricks is sitting on the old clay pit, so the slightly newer bricks there still have a "haunted" reaction.

Again, this is all just a working theory, and like any of us that are honest enough to admit, none of us have any idea what's actually going on but it sure is interesting to wonder about. 

Some of the best condition ones I have seen in my entire search. So sharp!!

Next week? We finally go inside the Providence Academy,  Mother Joseph's house built of cursed bricks. To say I'm excited is an understatement. That's the only original location left.