A Pilgrim's Processional By Margaret Hutton Special to washingtonpost.com Sunday, December 13, 1998

The National Shrine

The ornately painted ceiling of the National Shrine. (Reginald A. Pearman Jr./washingtonpost.com)

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is home to Pope Paul VI's coronation tiara. He relinquished it shortly after assuming his role as the head of the Roman Catholic Church in the 1960s, opting for the more understated miter now worn by popes. For some time afterward, this encased crown drew huge numbers of people to the shrine. But the primary attraction to the basilica remains the Virgin Mary – the structure was erected out of devotion to her. Catholic communities all over the country have given works of art in her honor.

In recent years, the African American Catholic community donated the Chapel of Our Mother of Africa on the crypt level of the shrine. It's composed of three main elements: a statue of Our Mother of Africa and her Divine Son, an ebony rendering of her Crucified Son, and a bas-relief depicting the movement of African Americans from slavery through the civil rights period.

Docents narrate the stories behind each chapel and mosaic. Here's an example of what you might miss without Catholic schooling: In the sanctuary of the Upper Church are 15 chapels, representing the sorrowful, glorious and joyful mysteries of the rosary (a prayer sequence consisting of one Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and one Glory Be to the Father).

Free tours are given between 9 and 11 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday, but the volunteers will make every effort to show visitors around at any time.

Washington National Cathedral

Flying buttresses line the south wall of the Washington National Cathedral. (Reginald A. Pearman Jr./washingtonpost.com)

While the basilica takes its architectural cues from Rome, the Gothicism of the Washington Cathedral hails from the Middle Ages. Much of the general guided tour is placed in that context. Docents set the medieval church scene as a place of social activity, where people making pilgrimages to the cathedral camped out for days at a time.

The stained-glass windows on the exterior walls of the nave were educational for churchgoers, most of whom couldn't read. Here, tiers of windows speak to different themes. For instance, the top level tells bible stories and the middle level addresses accomplishments by Americans (one depicts travel to the moon). A docent helps you "read" each window, but the most magnificent one – the West Rose Window made of more than 10,000 glass panes – is also one of the simplest. "Let there be light" is its theme.

If you have more time, take the Behind-the-Scenes Tour. But be forewarned: it's not for anybody who's wary of heights – at one point you actually walk over the vaulted ceiling, 10 stories up.

The Islamic Center

Moslems in prayer at the Islamic Center. (Reginald A. Pearman Jr./washingtonpost.com)

Among the spires in this capital city is the Islamic Center's minaret, just down the street from the Washington Cathedral. The center welcomes visitors in the mosque between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., as long as they observe a modest dress code (this includes head coverings for women and no bare arms or legs).

Don't expect individual attention, but don't be afraid to ask questions or to enter the mosque during daily prayers (there are five each day, so odds of arriving during one are pretty good). On any day but Friday, when crowds of thousands flock to mandatory prayers, you can see the mosque's tiled interior, with its delicate columns and Arabic inscriptions.

And just in case you need help finding your way home after your pilgrimage, be sure to take note of the Mihrab, the niche in the middle of the mosque wall that indicates the direction of Mecca.

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