A cardinal, a dove, and Noah’s Ark
Architect George "Butch" Razoyk has built and restored a lot of churches over the years, but the challenge in Braintree was unusual: convert a conference area in a standard-issue glass-and-steel office building alongside an interstate highway into something with an aura of the sacred and the special.
Yesterday, the Archdiocese of Boston unveiled the result, a 3,600-square-foot worship space, named the Bethany Chapel after the New Testament hometown of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. The chapel is inside the new archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Braintree, which in July replaced the old chancery complex in Brighton as the archdiocese's headquarters office building. The chapel will be used primarily for daily Mass and as a prayer space for the 225 church employees who work in the new building.
Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley blessed the chapel and dedicated the altar in a theatrical ceremony rich with ritual. At the entryway, he accepted a key to the chapel from Daniel Flatley, whose father, self-made billionaire Thomas Flatley, donated the property to the cash-strapped archdiocese and then died shortly thereafter. Inside, O'Malley knelt on the carpet to insert relics of nine saints (Frances Xavier Cabrini, Francis of Assisi, Gertrude the Great, James the Less, Lawrence, Margaret Mary Alacoque, Maria Goretti, Paul of the Cross, and Philip) into a niche in the altar's base. He then rolled up his multiple sleeves (he was wearing a white chasuble over a white dalmatic over his brown Capuchin habit), poured chrism oil onto the cherrywood altar, and rubbed it in with his bare hands (several nuns then wiped the table clean). Finally, he sprinkled incense into a tabletop brazier filled with hot charcoal, resulting in a thick cloud of pungent smoke rising up into the air (see photo below).
O'Malley called the ceremony a "rededication,'' saying "every altar is a new leaf in the table that Jesus used in the last supper.'' He also called the ceremony a "Catholic Hanukkah,'' comparing the rededication of the altar to the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem that is commemorated by the Jewish holiday.
O'Malley was heavily involved with the design of the chapel, personally selecting much of the iconography. The stained glass windows come from parishes that were closed in recent years: St. Jerome in Arlington, St. Peter in Gloucester, and Immaculate Conception (Lithuanian) in Cambridge, all closed by O'Malley, and Sacred Heart (Polish) in Ipswich, which had been closed by Cardinal Bernard F. Law. The corpus of Jesus and the stations of the cross come from the chapel on the Brighton campus that O'Malley sold to Boston College; and a gilded icon of Mary comes from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.
But the most striking object in the room is the tabernacle (picture above), which is a gold-and-silver plated dove, made in Spain, that is suspended from the ceiling above the altar. The tabernacle, also called a Eucharistic pyx, is used for storage of consecrated bread. The dove is a symbol for the Holy Spirit; the practice of suspending a pyx over the altar, although unusual today, dates back to early Christian history.
O'Malley noted that the dove appears repeatedly in Scriptures, including as Noah's scout in the Hebrew Bible, and several times in the New Testament. (O'Malley also compared the Catholic Church itself to Noah's Ark, saying "the church is a floating zoo -- a motley crew -- some are mutinous, others are seasick, but the great moment of joy comes when the dove appears over the waters.")
The architect, Razoyk, told me that the room presented numerous challenges as a potential chapel because of its flat ceilings, strip glass windows facing onto a parking lot, and generic setting. Razoyk, of Architectural Design Concepts in North Andover, said that although the room is essentially a wide, shallow rectangle, he tried to design the space to wrap around the altar, so that the curve of the 150 seats, the back wall, and the ceiling pattern help focus worshipers on that table as the center of their attention.
The designers installed an oval shaped ceiling over the altar, lit from below in the pattern of a starburst, in an effort to create the illusion of greater height. And on the exterior wall, to block out the parking lot without preventing the entrance of sunlight, the designers created a second wall of obscure glass that sets off the embedded stained glass windows.
The altar and the ambo are made from cherry, and inlaid with Carpathian elm burl, which, Razoyk said, is a byproduct of Dutch Elm disease and is supposed to remind worshipers of their own imperfections. The contemporary brass pulls on the chapel's glass entry doors are in the shape of a cross.
One other interesting design feature: the crucifix behind the altar is backlit with energy-efficient LED lights that are supposed to change color according to the liturgical season -- green, violet, white and red. Yesterday, at least to my eyes, the light appeared blue, which Razoyk said was an artifact of the bulbs.
The archdiocese declined yesterday to say how much the chapel construction cost. Spokesman Terrence C. Donilon said the archdiocese will disclose the costs of renovating the Braintree office building as part of its annual financial report. The costs are largely being paid with a portion of the proceeds from the sale of most of the Brighton campus to Boston College.
(Photos by Jonathan Wiggs of the Globe staff.)
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Who cares?
People living in the streets and these fools waste money on this crap
The way we get people off the streets is when we put God first and not money. The last people to help the poor are the first ones to line up and criticize the Church. That is what Judas Iscariot did when a woman came to annoint our Lord Jesus before he went off and betrayed him for thirty silvar pieces and that is what Neil Rice is doing now. Mr. Niel Rice, why don't you put your money where your mouth is and help Mother Church founded by Christ our Lord to help the poor and needy. God bless Cardinal Sean for putting God first.
And what do you 'waste" money on, Neil?
i care. Soon i will be a Catholic and my faith means very much to me. For thousands of years the Catholic Church has built schools, hospitals, food centers and fought for the poor. They continue to do so in every country on this planet.. St. Luke 10,16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that dispiseth you despiseth me; and he that desoiseth me despiseth him that sent you. That is the Catholic Church which was the only church in existance and founded by Christ. For me this is important and you are my brother and you are important also.
Tell me again how this relates to the real world. The church is good at making sandboxes for themselves to play in.
Neil Rice: who is the biggest provider of social service in the state of Massachusetts after the state government? Know your facts.
GOD BLESS THE CARDINAL AND GOD BLESS THE CHURCH. IN ANSWER
TO HARRY'S QUESTION - MANY PEOPLE CARE. THE CHURCH HAS DONE
AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO MORE GOOD FOR PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER
GROUP OR ORGANIZATION IN THE WORLD. THOSE WHO ARE FAITHFUL
KNOW THIS AND WILL RISE UP WITH THE CHURCH WHEN HER SPRINGTIME
COMES AGAIN. SHE GIVES MORE TO THE POOR THAN ANYONE BUT ALSO
KNOWS THAT TO GIVE GOD GLORY IS FIRST AND FOREMOST HER MISSION.
WHAT BETTER WAY THAN TO DEDICATE A NEW CHAPEL IN GOD'S HONOR.
LET'S ALL CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THOSE WITH HARDENED HEARTS AND
FOR ALL OF THE VICTIMS OF INJUSTICE THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
You call a chapel a sandbox to play in. Your soul was saved in that sandbox. Someday you will grow up to understand that. So, for now just save this letter.
THANK GOD FOR THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. WHEN I WAS SMALL THEY SENT FOOD BASKETS TO MY HOUSE AT LEAST 4 TIMES A YEAR, THEY GAVE US ALL THE SCHOOL MATERIALS , CLOTHES ETC. I KNOW THAT THEY ARE DOING THE SAME IN MANY COUNTRIES ESPECIALLY IN LATIN AMERICA. SOMEDAY YOU PEOPLE FROM BOSTON WILL REALIZE THAT THERE IS MUCH MORE TO THIS WORLD THAN MONEY AND POWER. I SEE THAT THE CHURCH IN AMERICA STILL HAS MANY WISE PEOPLE WHO DEFEND THE CHURCH. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
I have a question of Tom. If he thinks that this chapel is just a sandbox, then why is he wasting his time reading a Catholic Blog? Is he even Catholic? Dear Tom if you are Catholic maybe you should pick up a cathecism and a bible and begin learning something about your faith instead of criticizing it.
The Archdiocese was involved in gross criminal conduct for years, covering up child rape. It took a court order for them to release the secret files of these thugs.
The money would be better spent on trying to heal the victims of clergy rape.
If Bernie Law and his flunkies like McCormack, Daily, Banks, Hughes, and Murphy did not have clergy collars around their necks,they he would be spending the rest of their lives at Walpole or Concord Prison.
Please don't lecture me on the Archdiocese. Read the secret archives on Bishopaccountability.org. or the Globe Spotlight Team
Beautiful design.
Neil:
I don't think that anyone is lecturing you on the Archdiocese. We all know what certain people have or have not done - in all walks of life. Many people walk away from their crimes - which is not right. The Church is made up of people, some good, some not -so-good; some saints and some sinners. That's why the Church exists - to try to get us all on the path to the next life.
You refer to the Church as "you fools" - the fools are those who don't look past the bad and continue to strive for the good. They are the ultimate losers.
Once again I say that we all need to pray for those with hardened hearts. They only cause much grief in the end for themselves.
The Church should never have to apologize for making a proper house of worship. To those who say "God doesn't need for us to build such elaborate worship facilities when a simple steel box unadorned will suffice" understand neither God nor men nor the proper order of things: God first, others second, I am third. This is why Catholic Churches prior to the 20th Century were works of classic art and monuments as great or greater than Greek or Roman architecture. Churches like the Los Angeles Cathedral and the "Crystal Palace" pale in comparison to St. Peter's Basilica, Hagia Sophia, and St. Basil the Great in Moscow.
Unfortunately, everything for Neil comes back to the abuse scandal. Brian F. pointed out that the Catholic Church is the second largest provider of social services in the state, and his comeback is clergy abuse (which has nothing to do with social services).
So Neil, would you be happy if the entire Archdiocese closed its doors and stopped providing services? Your arguments are inconsistent. You complain about what the Church isn't doing due to money spent on the Chapel, then launch into an attack on the Church, which I believe was your goal from the start.
Just an addition... The Cardinal would also have been wearing a white Alb. One more set of sleeves to roll up!
Hey Neil Rice.... blah, blah, blah.... I'm with Felipe Barreda...put your money where your BIG mouth is! We all know where the Church has failed... and miserably at that. But if you're not willing to become part of the solution than you are part of the problem. Instead of being part of those who point out where the Church has failed (and they are many), why not help participate (and there's plenty of room here) in bringing about part of a better future? Maybe you can start by paying a visit to that Chapel and asking for guidance from above...you may find yourself surprised!
Although a worship space is important, the Archdiocese continues to face numerous financial challenges in continuing the good social work it does and also in taking care of its clergy, especially our retired priests and ill priests. One of the trust funds to help the retired clergy and help the health care of priests is $50,000,000 in debt! So, I would rather see the hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted in this space go to help the good men who have served the diocese faithfully and have been betrayed by Cardinal Sean in the selling of the church's property. Soon, Saint John's will be gone to. Thanks, O'Malley!
Mr. Neil you must be 'anti-religion' to begrudge the building of a place that believers of a particular religion need in order to come together to praise, worship, thank, petition, etc. their God. I need a place to do that each week and would be in a fix if there was no church or chapel where I could do it. This space was donated and there are probably donated monies for the building of this thoughtfully designed sacred space that will bring spiritual benefits to those who use it. Our relationship to God and each other can't be destroyed by the wrong acts of others. God will take care of them. Just relax about the money - it is money well spent. The aesthetics of prayer spaces are important for inspired prayer and beautiful liturgy.services.
See any women in the photo? Another example of how out-of-touch the mutli-sleeved Cardinal is.
I am shocked how rude people can be. If you don't care or have nothing nice to say why bother commenting. Plus, you make yourself sound ignorant.
This is the picture of the altar during a liturgical celebration. One shouldn't expect to see women in the picture. I am sure many women working at the chancery will go to mass there and appreciate the chapel.
What amazes me is the tabernacle; an aubrey. I though aubreys (hanging tabernacles) were now forbidden. I am glad to see one. I often think that this would be part of the way to resacralize some of the barren "churches in the round." What a beautiful way to put Jesus in the center of the church!
Susan Peterson
Waste of money. . . that is preposterous! Tell that to the architect and all of the artists, craftsmen, and construction workers hired on this project who are now using their wages to support their families. Now tell that to all the factory workers who made the tools for this project. Also while you're at it, tell that to all the grocers who sell food to these people. Then tell that to the factory workers who build the cars those people use to get to the grocery. . . . . . . . . Oh yeah, and never mind the inherent value of Beauty of the praise of God through art.
Another Roman Catholic Chapel for Christ and Mary. It is beautiful. All that comes from Christ is beautiful. Those of you who wrote bad things must not have goodness in your life for you would be able to see the GREATNESS THAT THEE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OFFERS TO EACH AND EVERYONE MOST ESPECIALLY IN EUCHARIST
"The Church should never have to apologize for making a proper house of worship. To those who say 'God doesn't need for us to build such elaborate worship facilities when a simple steel box unadorned will suffice' understand neither God nor men nor the proper order of things"
...nor good urban planning. A simple steel box unadorned isn't good architecture. Also, this isn't a large building built from scratch on land that used to be wildlife habitat or cropland. It's adaptive reuse of a preexisting building, which is much more prudent. You don't need to be Catholic, Christian, or even religious at all to appreciate these good moves. :)
I spent the day yesterday in the chapel, and it is beautiful. You are spiritually lifted upon entering. It was an excellent investment, and the office of the new evangelization is doing phenomenal work for transforming hearts. I have to admit, when I saw the negative comments written on this page, I wonder how much effort these individuals put into voicing your opinion in Diocesan spending before this excellent architectural feat was built. Luckily, there is only one true judge.
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