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Campus Ministry
History of the Chapel
THE STORY OF SAINT JOSEPH CHAPEL
Someone has asked why the chapel has been named Saint Joseph Chapel. The answer to that question is related to the history of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill.
When, in 1809, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton founded the Sisters of Charity as the first American congregation of women religious, she named the Motherhouse in Emmitsburg, Maryland in honor of Saint Joseph, patron of the universal Church.
In 1852, a group of the Emmitsburg sisters who had served in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio since 1829 became an independent congregation. They named their Motherhouse Mount Saint Joseph.
In 1870, at the request of Bishop Michael Domenec, second Bishop of Pittsburgh, the superiors of the community in Cincinnati sent sisters to Altoona, Pennsylvania, to establish an independent congregation for the Diocese of Pittsburgh. (Until 1901 Altoona was part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and fifty years later, in 1951 Greensburg became a separate diocese.) In 1882 the sisters purchased the 200 acre Jennings farm in Greensburg and named it Seton Hill. Until 1889 the sisters resided at what is now known as Saint Mary's where they also conducted an academy for girls which opened in 1883.
In the spring of 1889 the sisters and their students moved to a newly erected building which, in the tradition of their predecessors, they named Saint Joseph Motherhouse and Academy. The room now known as the Visual Education Room served as a temporary chapel from 1889 until 1896 when the present chapel was completed. The first Mass was offered in the temporary chapel on the feast of Saint Joseph, March 19, 1889.
Even while construction of the new Motherhouse was in progress, Mother Aloysia Lowe (first superior of the Sister of Charity of Seton Hill) envisioned the addition of a "chapel wing", and she initiated plans to obtain the necessary funds for its erection. It was she who recommended inscribing the names of principal donors on the marble tablets at the entrance to the chapel. She also arranged for a raffle as a fund raiser. (Among her memorabilia in the Archives of the Sisters of Charity is a copy of a raffle ticket.) However, Mother Aloysia did not live to see her dream fulfilled. She died on Christmas Day, 1889, just a few months after completion of the new Motherhouse. It was Mother Aloysia's successor, Mother Regina Ennis, who initiated plans for the new chapel.
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, among the many German immigrants who settled in the Midwest were some distinguished architects. Notable among them was Adolphus Druiding who has been described not only as an architect but also as "an aggressive business man willing to design a church of any size to fit any budget." (U.S. Catholic Historian, Winter 1997) Mother Regina signed a contract with Druiding and the Benz Brothers Contractors for construction of the new chapel. The foundation was completed early in 1894, but because of Mother Regina's unexpected death on May 16 of that year, further work was suspended for almost a year.
In July, 1894 Mother Josephine Doran succeeded Mother Regina as Mother Superior. During her term of office she supervised the building and furnishing of Saint Joseph Chapel. Construction was resumed in the fall of 1895 and completed in 1896.
Dedication of the chapel took place on the Feast of the Dedication of the Churches of Saints Peter and Paul, November 18, 1896. Early that morning, with only the sisters in attendance, Father John O'Connor (first resident chaplain at Seton Hill) offered the first Mass in the new chapel. Later that day, assisted by many of the clergy, Bishop Richard Phelan (fourth Bishop of Pittsburgh) celebrated a solemn Pontifical Mass and dedicated Saint Joseph Chapel. Present for this special occasion were the sisters, their students, families and friends of the sisters.
After the establishment of Seton Hill College in 1918 and the erection of Saint Joseph Hall as a residence for sisters in 1923, the Motherhouse building was renamed the Administration Building. The chapel preserved the original name of the patron, Saint Joseph.
DESIGN AND BEAUTY OF THE CHAPEL
Mother Josephine was both a musician and an artist. Much of the beauty of this chapel reflects her artistic talent.
The style of architecture is Romanesque, similar to that of the chapel of the Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati, also designed by Adolphus Druiding, begun at the same time as our chapel but completed a few years later. Although that chapel is more specious and somewhat more ornate than this one, the similarities of the two structures are striking.
Pillars of Georgian marble support the roof of the chapel and extend to Cecilian Hall (the auditorium) on the second floor and to the sisters' dining room and the Greensburg Room on the ground floor. (The latter originally served as the dining hall for the students.)
The main altar and the two side altars are of Carrara marble, imported from Italy. The main altar was the gift of Ellen Doran, sister of Mother Josephine, in memory of their parents. Their names are inscribed on the side of the altar. Sometime ago the original tabernacle door was replaced by the present one. In 1977 when the Council of the Sister of Charity moved to Regina House, the tabernacle door was removed from storage and placed in the small chapel at Regina House.
The altar of the Blessed Mother on the west side of the chapel was the gift of the parents of Sister Mary Louis Flick, one of the earliest members of the Sisters of Charity. The altar of Saint Joseph on the east side of the chapel was the gift of Laura Olmes, a convert to the Church, who in her later years made her home here at Seton Hill.
The altar rail of onyx and brass was donated by the Honorable George F. Huff, M.C., General Richard Coulter, and Thomas Donohoe, all of Greensburg.
The large sanctuary lamp which had been removed during the redecoration of the chapel has recently been restored to its original place. It was the gift of Thomas Lynch of Greensburg.
Among other special gifts were the fourteen Stations of the Cross, each donated by a member of the clergy. The pipe organ in the gallery, the gift of Andrew Carnegie, was said to have been his first such gift to a private institution. The east rose window of the transept was the gift of the family of Sister Marie Antoinette Reilly. Donations from families of the sisters paid for the original pews.
STAINED GLASS WINDOWS
Among the most beautiful features of Saint Joseph Chapel are the stained glass windows. The windows depict some of the principal devotions of the Catholic Church and also the patron saints of the first three Superiors of the Sisters of Charity whose vision, wisdom, and courage helped to make this chapel a beautiful reality.
At the main entrance to the chapel, above the center doors are printed the words, HUMILITY, SIMPLICITY, CHARITY, the virtues to be practiced by Sisters of Charity. The window in the left center door depicts Saint Anne with her young daughter, Mary. Saint Anne was one of the patronesses of Mother Regina who originally was known as Sister Ann Regina. In the right center door are pictured Saint John the Baptist and Jesus as young boys. The former was the patron of Sister Baptista Doran, sister of Mother Josephine.
The stained glass of the single door on the west side of the chapel depicts a young shepherdess, Saint Genevieve, patroness of Mother Josephine's sister, Sister Genevieve, a Benedictine. The stained glass in the single door on the east side pictures Saint Aloysius, patron of Mother Aloysia Lowe.
Windows of the Interior of the Chapel: Early written accounts state that these windows were made in Munich, Germany. The east rear window shows the patrons of Mother Aloysia and Mother Josephine. Saint Aloysius is shown in a vision of Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus. Saint Aloysius, a young Jesuit, is the patron of youth. It seems appropriate that he should be represented in a chapel to which so many young people have come to worship for more than a hundred years.
The west rear window also pictures Mother Josephine's patron. Mary and Jesus are shown with Saint Joseph at the time of his death.
The east center window shows Saint Vincent de Paul, the Apostle of Charity who, with Saint Louise de Marillac, founded the Daughters of Charity in France in the seventeenth century. For her new Community, Mother Seton adopted the Rule of Saint Vincent de Paul, whom the Sisters of Charity venerate as one of their patrons.
Mother Seton was canonized in 1975 almost eighty years after this chapel was built. Although there is no window portraying her, there is a small statue on a pedestal near the altar of the Blessed Mother. The statue was a gift of the Dolan family in memory of Sister Julia Teresa Dolan.
The west center window pictures the Virgin Mary with her mother, Saint Anne, patroness of mother Regina (formerly Sister Ann Regina).
Three windows portray one of the special devotions of the Church, the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the west side, near the altar of the Blessed Mother, the window pictures the Annunciation, the first Joyful Mystery. On the east side, next to the window of Saint Vincent de Paul is depicted the first Sorrowful Mystery, the Agony of Jesus in the Garden. On the west side, directly opposite the window of the Agony in the Garden, is shown the last of the Glorious Mysteries, the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven. The Latin word for Queen is Regina. This window shows a patroness of Mother Regina.
In that same window are shown Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine of Siena, two great saints of the Dominican order. Saint Dominic is credited with having introduced and promoted the devotion of the Rosary of the Blessed Mother. Legend has it that when Dominic's mother was pregnant with her son, she dreamed one night that she had given birth to a whelp carrying in its mouth a burning torch with which it set the world on fire. In this window, the animal with the flaming torch is symbolic of Saint Dominic's fiery preaching by which he succeeded in overcoming the Albigensian heresy that had spread over most of Europe.
In the window Saint Catherine of Siena, a great mystic, is shown wearing a crown of thorns. It is said that she once had a vision in which God presented her with two crowns, one of gold and one of thorns. The saint chose the crown of thorns and pressed it on her head. Saint Catherine is well known for having helped to avert a schism in the Church when she influenced the Pope to return from Avignon to Rome.
Near the altar of Saint Joseph another special devotion of the Church is depicted. The window shows Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in a vision of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A member of the Nuns of the Visitation, the saint is well known for her promotion of devotion to the Sacred Heart.
In the dome of the sanctuary, forming a skylight, is a rose window picturing some angels.
On the east and west walls of the transept are large rose windows made of opal glass which reflects different shades of blue, white, amber, and gold at varying times of the day. Morning sunlight causes the east window to be amber or gold, while the west window reflects more blue and white. The opposite is true when afternoon sun causes the west window to reflect more amber or gold and the east window more of the blue.
CHANGES IN THE CHAPEL SINCE 1896
Over the years some of the original beauty of the chapel has yielded to practicality, to changing customs and rituals.
Originally the chapel was furnished to accommodate two hundred ten persons. All of the pews were of the small size like those now in the center aisle. They were made by Henry Engbert, a master cabinet maker, brother of Sister Mary Bernard. Built of fine quartered oak, they were decorated with hand-carved acanthus leaves to set the pattern which was carried out in the frescoing of the walls and ceiling.
To accommodate to the growth of the sisters' community and increasing enrollments of Saint Joseph Academy and Seton Hill College, twice between 1896 and 1932 larger pews were added, resulting in the loss of the beauty and symmetry of the original arrangement.
Originally there were no ceiling lights in the chapel. Instead lights were attached to standards located in the aisles between the rows of pews. Ceiling lights replaced these when the larger pews were added, probably in 1932. The present lighting was installed about 1961.
In 1955 the original frescoing on the walls and ceiling was removed when the chapel was redecorated in off-white, blue, and gold. At a later date when the chapel was again redecorated, the blue color was replaced by the present gold.
From 1896 until 1955, on the rear wall of the apse there was printed in Latin a verse from Psalm 83 (Douay translation of the Scripture). Translated into English, the verse reads, "How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts!" Unfortunately this was removed by the redecoration in 1955.
Originally in the ceiling of the transept, there was a large ventilator with an ornate decoration. In the late 1940's the weight of the decoration caused it to fall, scattering plaster all over the floor of the transept. Fortunately no one was close enough to be injured. When the ceiling was repaired, a plain plastered and painted circular area replaced the once beautiful decoration and closed the ventilator.
In former years it was the custom of communicants to kneel at the marble altar rail for reception of the Eucharist. In 1957 a change was made to provide for persons who found it difficult to approach that rail because of the steps. The lower step below the rail was extended and on it was placed a simple wooden rail. Though it did not add to the aesthetic appearance of the chapel, temporarily it had some practical value!
In the early 1960's, with the introduction of the practice of having Mass offered with the priest facing the assembled congregation, other changes followed. A small wooden altar was placed inside the marble rail. Later, when the wooden rail was removed, the small altar was placed on the lower step outside of the marble rail.
Upon the recommendation of the chaplains, in 1976 there were further changes. The platform was extended to its present size, and a new, larger altar was constructed, with its base made of the ends of two of the small pews. The new altar, designed by Sister Mary Francis Irvin, was made by a relative of one of the sisters.
Another change in 1976 was the relocation of the largest pews to the transept, in front of the east and west entrances to the chapel.
More recently some of the pews have been moved from the chapel to other locations, thus enlarging the area around the altar to facilitate the approach of communicants for reception of the Eucharist.
Sister Sara Louise Reilly
Archivist of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill (1981-1995) |
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