“Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral,” Robert Louis Stevenson once observed.

To take in the splendors of Our Lady Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo, Ohio — informally known as simply “Rosary Cathedral” — is to see exactly what the famous writer meant. And there's no time like the present to take it all in: The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is Oct. 7.

The beauty of this place is sublime, its design unique. A number of top ecclesiastical architects consider it the most glorious cathedral in the United States. In fact, in the entire world this is the only Plateresque-style cathedral.

Plateresque, a romantic style that arose between the Gothic and Renaissance periods, is the name given the work of 16th-century Spanish silversmiths (plateros) who distinguished their work with elaborate, delicate, filigree-like ornamentation. In Rosary Cathedral, abundant Plateresque embellishments highlight the combined Romanesque and Saracen architecture to shape a one-of-a-kind masterpiece built for the glory and love of God and the Blessed Mother.

The Plateresque detailing mainly adorns the interior, but strong elements can be found about the exterior, too. Right away, upon approaching the cathedral from the street, the bright imperial Spanish tile roof struck me as different than anything I'd seen before. Deep blue, purple, green, orange, red and chartreuse tiles form what I learned are typical of Plateresque patterns.

Twin towers named after Peter and Paul, each topped with bells cast in Croyden, England, soar sky-ward past these multicolored tiles. The façade between them is, simply, grand.

Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, carved of a single block of limestone more than 6 feet tall, takes a prominent place of honor over the arched main portal's massive cypress doors. With a crown of roses and a golden halo, Mary stands enthroned under an intricately carved canopy. She is surrounded by statues and scenes, from her parents to the Annunciation, all carved in rich and revelatory detail.

Better With Age

The unusual cornice alone can keep a visitor busy for hours with its abundant symbolism. It nearly circles the exterior with 50 bas-relief panels illustrating the history of the Church, from Jesus handing the keys to Peter to a scene of the cathedral's completion.

Holy Rosary was dedicated in October 1940, its cornerstone having been laid in 1926, precisely 700 years after the completion of the ancient cathedral in sister city Toledo, Spain. Even though the American edifice is only 75 years old, it was built exactly like its 13th-century medieval predecessors. Not a single inch of steel was used. Everything is solid masonry, starting with the Massachusetts granite and Indiana limestone that buttress the exterior.

Immense as this cathedral is, its delicacy, gracefulness and abundance of warm liturgical art keep the sanctuary from overwhelming the visitor. There's no question you're in a holy temple.

One monumental fresco by Viennese artist Felix Lieftucher begins above the Rose Window with “Creatio Mundi.” Angels carry medallions illustrating creation; the scene continues through the seven bays of the Spanish vaulted ceiling to the sanctuary's Crucifixion scene with Mary the Mother of Sorrows, then gloriously fills the apse with the epic Crowning of Mary, Queen of Heaven. Angels and the Church Triumphant, Militant and Suffering surround her in this spectacular celestial mural. The frescoes, done in the Keim manner, actually brighten with age.

The larger-than-life crucifix suspended in midair between this 83-foot-high heavenly scene and the altar is so moving a reminder of what it took to win our salvation that I couldn't help but kneel in spontaneous prayer. The crucifix is of European walnut, while the corpus is carved from Black Forest oak. This masterful work was done by August Schmidt in Cologne, whose multitude of carvings include the lace-like intricacies of the pulpit and canopy, and the Stations of the Cross. Their frames carry a motif of carved thorns and passion flowers with Plateresque gold leaf illumination.

At every step around the cathedral, art combines the Bible and 20 centuries of Church history in a way that inspires prayer and contemplation. We can even pray the rosary visually as we follow the mysteries painted along the ceilings of 14 bays in the wide side aisles. Each rosary mural correlates an Old Testament event with New Testament scenes. The Annunciation, for instance, is paired with Tobias; the Crucifixion is joined by Moses with arms held aloft for victory.

When Jan de Rosen, artist for the mosaics in the papal chapel at Castel Gondolfo, Italy, painted these murals, he used parishioners’ faces, mostly schoolchildren's, for his models. One red-haired mother inspired the red-haired angel Gabriel.

The mysteries move past murals commemorating the Battles of Lepanto in 1571 and Temesvar in 1716 — famous victories attributed to the power of the rosary prayed devoutly. The rosary murals reach the Blessed Virgin Mary Chapel with the 14th mystery. The 15th mystery soars high in the apse.

The statues at both side altars — Mary as Queen of Peace, affectionately called the Smiling Madonna, and St. Joseph, both holding the Child Jesus — are carved of Trani marble from Florido, the quarry of Michelangelo's Pieta.

Tower of Power

Both chapels are divinely inspired. Their brilliant Venetian mosaics imitate 12th-century frescoes. Two years in the making, the candlesticks and tabernacles for both these altars are dazzling enamel melted on bronze — the largest pieces of cloisonné in the world.

The octagonal Blessed Sacrament Chapel, intricately laid with tessellated marbles, has an elaborate tabernacle symbolizing Mary as the Tower of David. It replicates the belltower dome of the cathedral in Spain so accurately that the visiting mayor of Spain's Toledo recognized the replica as the sight he sees daily from his office window.

Another Spanish connection in this chapel is the remarkable copy of El Greco's Descent of the Holy Spirit. When the chapel's gates were displayed at the Smithsonian in 1979, experts called them the best example of hand-wrought aluminum in the world.

The equally astonishing baptistery hood, also of aluminum, is embossed with symbols and topped with an image of John the Baptist. Using only hand tools, Natale Rossi carved this superb, jewel-like masterpiece in the cathedral basement from one solid 400-pound block. The hood covers a marble baptistery carved in the form of a Spanish fountain

I could go on. The many wonders filling this singular Plateresque cathedral give a luminous example of people giving the very best. To paraphrase Stevenson, “Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it visited such a cathedral” — like this one, built to glorify God and honor Our Lady of the Rosary.

Joseph Pronechen writes from Trumbull, Connecticut.