A sainted bit of the Rhone in Wisconsin
MILWAUKEE - On the campus of Marquette University is a chapel, but one that did not begin its life in Wisconsin. It rose in 15th-century France as the Chapelle de St. Martin de Sayssuel in the village of Chasse, 12 miles south of Lyon in the Rhone Valley.
The structure was purchased in 1926 by millionaire Gertrude Hill Gavin who had it dismantled stone by stone and rebuilt on her Long Island estate.
In 1964, new owners of the estate gave the chapel to Marquette, which had it disassembled and shipped to the school.
The chapel is a remarkable piece of Gothic architecture, but the thing that makes it special resides within: the Joan of Arc stone. Documents sent with the chapel show that in 1429 this stone supported a statue of the Virgin Mary, at which Joan of Arc prayed before leading her countrymen into battle with the English in the Hundred Years' War.
Besides the stone, the chapel arrived with other furnishings: a 15th-century Gothic altar; a 14th-century tapestry depicting the Virgin Mary, priests, and angels; and wooden prayer kneelers, a crucifix, a baptismal, and a Gothic font. Oh, and those orb-like things dotting the front lawn? Roman urns dating to the 2d century.
Many old buildings have a story to tell, but few have one that spans this much history and geography.
St. Joan of Arc Chapel, Marquette University, 735 North 17th St., Milwaukee, 414-288-6873, marquette.edu/chapel. Tours Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday noon-4. Mass celebrated Monday-Friday at noon and Monday-Thursday at 10 p.m. during academic year.
FRANCES J. FOLSOM 