Catholic Tamatsukuri Church
Osaka-Takamatsu Cathedral St. Mary's Cathedral
Grand Cross
Suspended from the ceiling in front of St. Mary in Glory is the Grand Crucifix, 7 meters tall, now only a cross, originally with statues of the Virgin Mary and the Apostle John the Evangelist on either side of it (now installed in the music balcony, where the pipe organ is located). This is a masterpiece of wood carving by Lungarce, the sculptor of the sculptures for the Way of the Cross, St. Francis Xavier and St. Agnes in the chapel.
After the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, it was removed due to the danger of falling, leaving only the crucifix. Without this statue of the Virgin Mary and the Apostle John, it would be difficult to understand the meaning of the Grand Cross, so I will explain it as if it were there. This large cross represents
the Gospel of John 19:25-27.
Here, Jesus, nailed to the cross, saw his mother Mary and his beloved disciple John by his side, and said to
his mother, "Woman, behold your son," and to his beloved disciple, "Behold your mother." Thus, in the face of
death, Jesus proclaimed the beginning of a new relationship between His mother and His disciple. That beloved disciple of Jesus is interpreted here not as John personally, but as meaning all those who will believe in Jesus from now on, that is, the Church. Thus, Jesus, on the verge of death, gave his mother Mary as the
mother of the Church and proclaimed it. In this way, the biblical basis is presented that Mary, honored in the Great Mural, is the Mother of the Church.
Moreover, again, the Virgin Mary is here invoked as "O Lady." It was not the custom in Judea at that time for a son to address his mother as "O Lady. Then, why did the evangelist John write "O lady" (Greek: gyne)? Actually, the term is taken from Genesis 3:22 (Greek 70 translation). Here it is said to Eve, who with Adam committed the first sin. John the Evangelist addresses the term to the Virgin. He is thus trying to say that the Virgin Mary is the human ancestor of the new humanity. In other words, this human ancestor is the
Immaculate Conception. Thus, the great mural suggests that the Virgin Mary is also the Immaculate Conception. The statue above the entrance of this cathedral is also the Immaculate Conception.
