St. Joseph Parish
Springfield, IL
Baldichin
From the Italian word Baldacchino, referring to rich cloth from Baghdad used to cover sacred objects, a baldichin is an architectural canapy built over an altar. The most famous of these structures is that which covers the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The baldichin at St. Joseph is designed as a crown of gold. Suspended above the marble altar, it is a fitting crown over the table of God, commemorating Christ the King.