TAC Chapel

This past weekend we attended the long-awaited Chapel dedication at our alma mater. There are few words to describe the beauty of this place - the campus, the students and faculty, the books, and now the new Chapel - all ordered so fittingly to the glory of God. I really am nearly speechless in attempting to describe the love I have for this place, which inflamed the spark in me for learning and seeking truth, which firmly strengthened my moral life, and gave me my husband and vocation to marriage. I so hope my daughters will find it in their hearts to love it too, and make the same choice I did when I was eighteen.

The new Chapel, Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, is truly "A Church that Teaches", as the full-color dedication guide declares. Every detail, both inside and out, was given a tremendous amount of thought and prayer, so that the edifice would in every part as well as in it's whole, lift minds and hearts to Him who created all.

Please pardon the length and the detail of this post (it was much too hard to decide what to leave out), and forgive the way I go back and forth quoting and writing. Also if you have a few minutes, the text here is more important than the pictures, beautiful as they are, for getting a sense of the role this Chapel holds in the life of the college.

from the campus driveway (taken while driving)

behind the great oak, under whose branches

for four years we spent many hours studying, contemplating.

here you see alumni children (incl. Gianna) playing in the courtyard

the sun's light, shining it's resplendent beauty,

seems to bless Our Lady's church

The bell tower, it's three tiers symbolizing the Triune God.
"As Providence would have it, the top-most tier and the cross
above it were hoisted into place on September 14, 2007 -
the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross."

My favorite element of the entire chapel.
The "woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Rev. 12:1)

Below Our Lady is seen a triangular pediment, suggestive again
of the Holy Trinity. Inside the pediment, a relief of the college's
crest with angels on either side; and below, St. John's description
of the Woman of the Apocalypse inscribed in Latin.

I couldn't get enough pictures of Her.

The front facade is seen "as a porta coeli, or gate of heaven,
with a triumphal archway through which the faithful enter."

On either side are statues of the Church's two greatest theologians,
St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, calling to mind the college's
classical curriculum. If you look closely you'll see each statue's pose
represents the two sides of the spiritual life-the active and the contemplative. "Taken together, they speak to the need for both good works and contemplation in the life of the Christian."


The chapel's bronze entrance doors feature "six panels that will one day depict scenes from the life of the Blessed Mother, just as the golden door of the Chapel's tabernacle depicts six scenes from the life of Christ." Above the doors is a bas relief of Our Lady at her Coronation, surrounded by the three Persons of the Holy Trinity.

The nave of the Chapel is relatively narrow yet dramatically high...
emphasizing "the prominence of the altar and tabernacle and the
transcendence of God. On either side are seven archways,
signifying the seven sacraments, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit,
the seven dolors and seven joys of the Blessed Mother,
and the three theological and four natural virtues."

The Chapel's vaulted ceiling represents the vault of heaven.
It's "translucent windows allow the building to be filled with
the sun's radiance, reminding us of the light of heaven. A wide blue,
marbleized band, honoring the Blessed Mother, lines the clerestory."
Beautiful!

If you zoom in you'll have a clearer picture of the Chapel's bronze
baldacchino, "reminiscent of Bernini's Baroque masterpiece
in St. Peter's Basilica, testifying to the college's fidelity to Rome.
Like the Ark of the Covenant, the balducchino is surmounted
by golden cherubim (Ex. 25: 18-21), who are depicted bearing
grapes and wheat, symbols of the Holy Eucharist."

"The tabernacle is the heart and soul of a Catholic church. It is
the dwelling place of [Our Lord], Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.
In light of the tabernacle's extraordinary purpose, it shares with the altar the most honored location in [the Chapel]." It stands high on a marble pedestal so as to be visible behind the altar. The tabernacle's gold arched door depicts six scenes from the life of Christ, and below the door is inscribed Our Lord's words of consecration:
HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM, "This is My Body" (Matt. 26)

With gold walls and mirrors for a floor and celing, "the inside
of the tabernacle creates the impression of an eternal gold shaft
uniting heaven and earth, just as the Eucharistic Lord bridges
the eternal gap between God and man."

The 12 windows in the Chapel's dome (partly seen below)

represent the twelve apostles.

~

"Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind: the first like a lion, the second like an ox, the third with a face like a human face, and the fourth like a flying eagle...Day and night without ceasing they sing, 'Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.'" (Rev. 4:6-8)

~

Christian tradition has long associated the four evangelists with the four "living creatures" that surround God's throne in the Book of Revelation. In the new TAC Chapel, "each of the four Gospel writers is depicted with his traditional symbol on the pendentives that sustain the dome, just as the four Gospels sustain the Church." (In this picture you see two of the four pendentives - the lion and the eagle, St. Mark and St. John respectively.)

A few more exterior campus photos. I love how peaceful

this spot is, fitting for the contemplation of ideas.

campus view looking toward a dormitory

A picture most of us older alumni can appreciate -

the last of the old temporary buildings, wherein classes

were taught, students resided, and faculty had their offices.

I don't imagine this one will exist much longer.

~

During our visit to the college over the weekend my husband remarked, "There are few places I can be and find myself completely happy, at peace. This is one of them." I feel the same way.

~

Other notes of interest: the Chapel's architectural plans were blessed in Rome by His Holiness Pope John Paul II in 2003 and by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. Each of their coats of arms is inlaid into the central aisle of the floor. The chapel also houses relics of the twelve apostles. Amazing! And though the new Chapel is quite grand, know that, when there, it is very clearly a fitting dwelling for a humble God, and the humble faithful who enter it's doors.

~