Sacred Heart Chapel Renovation

The original Sacred Heart Chapel was 70 years old when the Benedictine Monastery decided to renovate. They wanted a space that would reflect the new awareness of contemporary Benedictine Spirituality as it related to the quality of their lives together as a community. Beginning in 1981, members of the Monastery met in small groups of 20-25 sisters to design the new chapel. 150 meetings and 3 designs later, construction was underway. In addition to awareness of spirituality, the sacredness of space and environment were key elements in the design of the new chapel. With these principles, the decision to build a gathering space was made. The Gathering Place, which the new space was to be called, was built in 3 levels:

• The top level would hold liturgical, social and educational events
• The middle level would become an Oratory for the praying of the Divine Office
• The bottom level would contain the Monastery’s Archives.

The estimated cost for the renovation and the added Gathering Place was $4 million. This undertaking was solely a Benedictine project, funded completely by the community, who had been saving for many years. Sister Colleen Haggerty became the overseer of this endeavor. Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, the architects who were responsible for the design of Mary Commons and the Benedicta Arts Center, were in charge of architectural design. The world renowned Frank Kacmarcik was hired as the Liturgical & Design Consultant.

The construction of the new Sacred Heart Chapel included preserving some of the pieces of the old. The pillars which flank the doors of the chapel, as well as the pillars in the Gathering Place, were the same Italian Siena marble pillars that were used in the old chapel. The old marble statues of St. Benedict, St. Scholastica, Sacred Heart and the Virgin Mary were again placed prominently. The base of the altar and baptismal font even contain the small pillars from the altars of the old chapel. The inclusion of these pieces was to preserve a sense of history and tradition combined with the newness of the Sacred Heart Chapel.

After 18 months and a final cost of $4.5 million, the Sacred Heart Chapel and the Gathering Place were ready in the spring of 1983. The project was not termed completely finished until the new altar was consecrated by Bishop on October 24, 1983.

The Sacred Heart Chapel stands as an important symbol of the Christian faith and of the Benedictine heritage and community. It is a meeting of old traditions and a new and ever-growing spiritual vitality.

Special thanks to Sara Trent '08 for drafting this text.