Architecture to Inspire the Soul
Three beautiful chapels provide sacred spaces for prayer.
At the center of our building are three breathtaking chapels which provide for the heart of our ministry; offering a space to allow for the cultivation of personal and communal growth centered on the richness of Tradition based on the Catholic Faith.
There are also fully-functioning sacristies and vesting areas for those priests who would like to celebrate Mass while at the Seminary.
At the center of our building are three breathtaking chapels which provide for the heart of our ministry; offering a space to allow for the cultivation of personal and communal growth centered on the richness of Tradition based on the Catholic Faith.
There are also fully-functioning sacristies and vesting areas for those priests who would like to celebrate Mass while at the Seminary.
Main AltarEntering the main chapel from the mezzanine, one’s vision is irresistibly drawn to the basilican sanctuary. Together with its artful ceiling and richly embellished terrazzo floor, it provides a fitting setting for the altar of God. Specifically, it is the reredos rising up behind the marble altar that claims all attention. It is a beautiful work of art in wood carving, burnished with gold leaf and exhibiting the salient features of Christ’s life of beauty and wonder. The central them of the reredos is the crucifixion scene superimposed on a medallion recounting the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps nowhere on the reredos is the consummate skill and exquisite workmanship of the artist so clearly manifest as in the ten scenes from the life of Christ flanking the Crucifixion.
Lining the two sides of the chapel, hand carved stalls face each other in monastic style to facilitate the recitation of prayer. The Stations of the Cross are engraved at intervals along a wooden screen behind them. Above these rise the richly colored stained glass windows and beamed ceiling painted in polychrome finish. Approaching the narthex, we are confronted with a wrought iron choral screen in a combination of Spanish Renaissance and Romanesque design; the splendid craftsmanship of Frederick Bergmueller, a native of Augsburg, Germany. His work is abundantly displayed throughout the interior and exterior of the Seminary. The Skinner organ made of four individual organs can be played separately or linked together, this beautiful instrument contains 1,800 pipes and was installed in 1930. |
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Crypt ChapelBelow the main chapel in the foyer, attention is directed to a bell made in 1656 which hung in the belfry of the Convent de la Candalaria in Cadiz, Southwestern Spain. Of interest is the inscription in Spanish, “Hail most holy Mary conceived without original sin – a profession of faith in the Immaculate Conception two hundred years before its solemn definition as dogma! In 1869, the convent was plundered and the bell was removed. It eventually arrived in the US and was later given to Bishop Molloy of Brooklyn who presented it to the seminary.
The Crypt chapel is a treasury of artistry. It contains twelve small chapels, each a gem of exquisite beauty enclosed by intricately designed wrought iron screens with its own distinctive style. Each chapel dedicated to various saints, has a character all its own that blends to produce the awesome beauty of the crypt. |
Bishop's ChapelPassing through the sacristy is the Bishops’ chapel. The decorative scheme of this chapel, death and judgement, is eloquently told in mosaic. The focal point is the magnificent mosaic panel above the altar portraying the artistic and familiar Byzantine representation of Christ, the Pantocrator, Supreme Judge and Lawgiver seated in power and majesty, his right hand raised aloft and his left hand supporting a book open to the works; “I am the resurrection and the life”.
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