The High Altar
The scene at the top center of the high altar depicts the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, reflecting the patroness of St. Mary's Parish. Our Lady is pictured, shortly after the Annunciation, as she is greeted by her cousin Elizabeth, who had recently, miraculously, conceived John the Baptist in her old age (Luke 1:39-57). And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be[a] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.
The Feast of the Visitation is celebrated on May 31.
To the left of Our Blessed Mother is St Joseph. Tradition is that the Virgin Mary traveled without St. Joseph, but he is depicted regularly in paintings with her.
To the right of St. Elizabeth is her husband Zechariah who was a Jewish high priest and prophet. He lived an exemplary life dedicated to God. He was responsible for the incense in the temple where God's people brought offerings to Him. He was also a descendant of King David, having been born into the house of Judah.
The High Altar
The saint with the wheel, depicted on the left of the tabernacle, is the early Christian martyr of the fourth century, Saint Catherine of Alexandria. Her legend tells us that she was, at a young age, a Christian scholar who presented herself to the Roman Emperor Maximinus and successfully argued the truth of the Christian faith against his philosophers. In fact, some of the pagan philosophers were themselves converted. The emperor ordered Catherine imprisoned where, after visiting her, the Empress herself along with numerous guards were also converted to the Christian faith and subsequently martyred. She was sentenced to death on a torture wheel, but the wheel miraculously broke at her touch. She was finally beheaded, and it is piously believed that her body was carried by angels to Mount Sinai, where a still famous monastery was built to her honor. More than a thousand years later, St. Joan of Arc said that St. Catherine appeared to her on several occasions. Her feast is celebrated on November 25.
The saint depicted in the right of the high altar is Saint Rose of Lima, patroness of America. She was born in Lima, Peru in 1586 and died in 1617. She is usually depicted with a crown of roses. Her feast is celebrated on August 23.