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Sunday, April 10, 2011

Who painted this?


The fam was doing the tourist thing in Newport, RI.  One of the places we  visited was the Seaman's Church Institute on Market Street.  It's a place where seamen can stay for awhile, shower, and eat.  We spent some time in their chapel.  Although, it's nondenominational, it's heavy with Catholic imagery.  The blessed Mother is everywhere.

They had a quiet library and a couple of computers, too.  On the main floor, was a cafe.  We had made plans for lunch previously, so we couldn't stay.  But we noticed that it was the type of place where they'd accommodate whatever your taste.  So we promised ourselves that we'd be back.

The day we were leaving, we packed our things, checked out of the resort and went over to the Aloha Cafe in the Seaman's Church Institute.  We went for breakfast.  It was Friday, during Lent, so no bacon or ham or corned beef.  No problem.  They whipped up a cheese omelet with lots of vegetables.  Who needs bacon?

There was a huge picture on the wall.  A quick glance at it told me that it was the Nina, Pinta, or Santa Maria.   It just looked like a big Spanish galleon with a huge red cross on it's main sail.  But while waiting for our food I had a chance to look at it more closely.

What caught my eye was the small red pennant on the very top.  It was the Holy Spirit.  Hmmmm.  I never saw that before, on a ship.  Below it, on one of the top small sails was the Eucharist--the host above a chalice. This is definitely Catholic.  I looked at its figurehead.  It wasn't sticking out, just a flat painting on the bow.  But it was the Madonna holding baby Jesus.  There was only one person on the ship and that was the helmsman.  Wait a minute!  That helmsman was no ordinary sailor.  He had a halo around his head.  I got up out of my seat and walked over to look more closely.  It was Jesus, Himself!  Of course, Jesus is steering His Church.  There's some sort of heraldry on the bottom left corner.  I couldn't identify it, though.

I love this place.  I love this picture.  And I loved the food.  It was perfect.  I love this place.  We were the only people in it, so we had the place to ourselves.  If I lived in Newport, I'd make this place my hangout.  If you're ever in Newport, go eat at the Aloha Cafe in the Seaman's Church Institute.  Visit their chapel, and definitely examine this painting in the cafe.

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