📖 What you see · The transept
đź“Ť Transept crossing
What you see
You stand where the nave crosses the transept, the cross-arm that gives the cathedral its cross shape. At each end, a rose window filters the light. Against a nearby pillar, a stone Virgin and Child takes on the colours of the glass depending on the hour: in the morning, pink and blue patches drift across her cloak. This Gothic statue shows a smiling mother presenting the child to the visitor.
👨‍👩‍👧 For families
Look for the statue of the mother and her baby, against a pillar. Look closely at her dress: can you see patches of colour? It is not paint! It is light from the stained glass. Come back at another time of day: the colours will have moved.
✝️ What it says about faith
The rose, round and without end, evokes the perfection of God and often the Virgin Mary, whom tradition calls the mystical rose. The Virgin and Child does not keep her son to herself: she turns him towards us. That is Mary's whole place in the Christian faith, leading to Christ.
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Photographs: Jean-Marie Kameni, August 2026. Demo content, to be approved by the cathedral. Working translation, to be reviewed by a native speaker.