Tuesday, April 11, 2000
Chapel restoration lets its glory shine
Murals, gold leaf, decorative patterns uncovered
By Lew Moores
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DELHI TOWNSHIP — When the work began and the architecture was cleaned, they started to notice appointments that were hidden by time and grime — the mural on the sanctuary dome, the murals that seem to float on the ceiling, some four stories up, all took on a renewed shine and revealed detail.
Sister Columbia Yuan pauses to look through the opening for the rose window at Immaculate Conception Chapel.
(Glenn Hartong photo)
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“The colors were so dark,” said Sister Dolores Maureen McDonald, as she stood in the center of Immaculate Conception Chapel and looked up at the vaulted ceiling.
Restoration work on the chapel at the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse began in October. The last Mass was celebrated Oct. 3, 1999. The 100-year-old chapel will reopen and be rededicated July 1. Mass has been celebrated in the interim at the Motherhouse auditorium.
Year of planning
The work is being done to improve the sound and lighting, add air conditioning and insulation for noise reduction, and generally improve the chapel as a place of worship.
Plans began a year before the work started. The sisters who live at the Motherhouse, next to the College of Mount St. Joseph, and Mother Margaret Hall — some 250 of them — were asked for their ideas, and architects who specialize in this kind of restoration were called in.
Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati is a religious community of more than 600 nuns who work in various ministries in this country and four foreign countries.
Construction of the chapel in Romanesque architecture was begun in 1894, but it was not completed until 1901. The chapel was last redecorated in 1950.
The work began, and a honeycomb of scaffolding was installed, as workers went about cleaning the murals and painting the dome and walls. Gold leaf was revealed, when the walls and trim were cleaned.
So were decorative patterns around the chapel. Details were glazed.
“We never knew that was there,” said Sister Dolores. “We've brought out much more of the intricacies of the architecture.”
The work extends to the sun porch, where huge windows allow light to flood in, but where, without heat, it was so cold in the winter that the holy water froze.
Firms were hired to put in drywall, install air conditioning, add hundreds of lights, clean the murals and paint, repair and protect stained glass, and do marble work and nondecorative painting.
At the banquet
The altar will be moved toward the center of the chapel, with a combination of chairs and pews arranged around it.
“When you attend a banquet, which is what the eucharistic celebration is, you want to be a part of the banquet,” said Sister Dolores, who is special projects coordinator for the order. “The chairs allow that. It allows for greater flexibility.”
The sisters have been kept apprised of the work, and have had tours of the chapel while the work is going on. Sister Florence Cremering said the sisters are excited by the restoration work.
“We're not sure what it will look like, but we're sure it will be beautiful,” Sister Florence said. “The ambience means a lot. The chapel has always been the center of the Motherhouse.”
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