Cathedral of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Palm Beach, Florida

The Cathedral Parish of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Palm Beach was originally built in 1970 as a parish in the Archdiocese of Miami. In 1984 the Diocese of Palm Beach was created and the parish was selected to be the seat of the new bishop, Thomas Daily.

The architecture follows a modern and open style. From outside, the church is very unassuming.

Cathedral of St. Ignatius of Loyola

The roof

The patron saint

The church is divided into a daily Mass chapel and the main body of the church. A glass wall separates the two, making an odd combination. We first went into the chapel, which has a mixture of good and bad decorations.

Daily Mass chapel looking into the main church

A nice, simple altar

Great statue of Our Lady

Felt banners are not my favorite

I didn't really like this crucifix either

The entrance to the main church is the diocese's holy door for the Year of Mercy. The door has a picture of the door at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on it, well done enough to fool the eye from a distance. I liked it a lot.

Holy door looks like bronze plates from a distance

Detail of door

Explanation of the indulgence for walking through the Holy Door

Read more about the special indulgence attached to holy doors here.

The interior of the church is a typical 1970s auditorium-style--pews in a semi-circle sloping down to the altar in the middle.

Main aisle of the church

View from the glass wall by the daily Mass chapel

The  church has a lot of beautiful art in it.

Stained Glass window of St. Thomas the Apostle

More apostles--Matthew and Jude

Our Lady

First station of the cross

The baptismal font is impressive.

Baptismal font and pulpit

Since it is the cathedral for the diocese, it has a special spot for the holy oils used in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick.

Holy oils

The choir has a standing piano and a drum set(!) to the left of the main altar.

Choir area

Main altar

Outside is a small chapel to the Holy Family with nice Eastern stylings.

Altar to the Holy Family

Mosaic Madonna and Child

Playmobil Fun Park, Florida

A fun kid-centric attraction in Palm Beach is the Playmobil Fun Park on North Military Trail.

Playmobil Fun Park entrance

Let's get the obvious over with...this place is clearly self-promotion for Playmobil. They have tables upon tables of various sets of toys they sell at the gift shop (through which you have to exit, of course). Even so, it is a fun place to visit, especially if you want to try out new toys before buying. Just be warned, if you have a whiny/demanding kid, you may have to pay more than the $1 per person entrance fee.

Inside the play/shopping area

My toddler gravitated toward letting animals go. One bench had a couple of Noah's Arks and a bin full of animals. My son did not take them out two by two, so that's one more river to cross before he really understands the classic Bible story.

Mostly elephants, giraffes, and zebras

Don't make fun of my important work

He also discovered a farm and a stable yard full of animals in need of liberating.

Barnyard freedom!

Fancy stables

My daughter, after watching Swiss Family Robinson, was fascinated with a table full of small boats. I had to identify kayaks, canoes, and power boats, as well as explain the differences.

Ready for a race

She moved on to the princess display but didn't stay too long.

Playing with a castle

One of the employees came by and tried to get the toddler to join a stage show they were putting on. They had a variety of activities, including keep the ball in the air, the limbo, and the chicken dance. My son didn't have the attention span or the skills for the first two but eventually got into the chicken dance.

Stage show

The two kids teamed up at some of the tables, sorting and replacing toys as they saw fit.

Messing with a helicopter

Trucks table

Filling a cargo container

Some of the oversized toys were hard to resist, especially the throne in the castle and a nearby pirate.

Becoming royalty

Only one can remain on the throne

Pirate and a lass

Pirate and a lad

Some of the "full size" toys were amazing to me, though the most amazing thing was the regular toys that looked like they need a shave.

Showing the German heritage of Playmobil

Amazing carriage

Beachcomber?

An area is set aside for birthday parties. I imagine this would be a fun but dangerous place to have a pre-schooler birthday party. The biggest danger is that all the presents will be products from the gift shop!

Birthday/celebration table

We did by some Christmas-themed toys since they were having a "Christmas in July" sale with 25% off regular items and an additional 5% off of Christmas items. This may be our earliest Christmas shopping yet!