Buffalo Religious Arts Center - Table of contents

North Transept Mural: Maria Immaculate
Buffalo Religious Arts Museum
Formerly St. Francis Xavier RC Church

Buffalo Religious Arts Center - Official Web Site


The murals that adorn the sanctuary (1913) and the side altars (1920) were executed by the Benedictine Monk Fr. Raphael Pfisterer.
Click on illustration for larger size.



Mary Immaculate, Patroness of North America,  hovering in the air.

Mary, with a crown of stars, stands on a crescent moon above a snake. This depiction of the Immaculate Conception refers to the Book of Revelations 12:1 "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head... She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth." See Immaculate Conception for more information.


Text translation: Most Blessed Virgin Mary conceived without original sin,
patroness of the North American provinces, pray for us.



U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.


Generic bishop ..... Map does not include the 1920 territories of Alaska and Hawaii.



Pfisterer's depiction of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington was based on the architect's design of the shrine that had not been built in 1920.

Mural suggests that the National Shrine is the spiritual parallel to the U.S. Capitol.




Special thanks to Buffalo Religious Arts Center Founder and President Mary Holland for her cooperation
and to Gregory Witul for research assistance, both in 2010

Photos and their arrangement © 2010 Chuck LaChiusa
| ...Home Page ...| ..Buffalo Architecture Index...| ..Buffalo History Index... .|....E-Mail ...| ..

web site consulting by ingenious, inc.