This article originally appeared on Daily News Record.
Christendom College will open its new, multimillion dollar Christ the King Chapel today after years of fundraising and construction.
The private Catholic college on Shenandoah Shores Road in Warren County scheduled a ribbon-cutting ceremony for this morning followed by events throughout the weekend. College officials say they expect local, state and federal leaders and community members to attend today’s ribbon-cutting. On Saturday afternoon, Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington will dedicate the chapel in a Dedication Mass with Francis Cardinal Arinze in attendance.
The chapel’s spires and crossing tower rise above the surrounding tree line, visible from miles away. A closer look reveals the chapel’s Gothic-style architecture and, once inside, the stained-glass windows, detailed woodwork and other features.
“It’s very humbling now,” Smith said. “That’s probably, like, the biggest word that we’re feeling, going ‘Wow … it’s actually here’ after all the good work and the sacrifices and the generosity of so many.”
Workers on Thursday laid sod around the chapel, placed stones in the piazza at the entrance and made other finishing touches on the building. Some of the work would continue after the chapel’s opening weekend.
The project cost approximately $30 million, but the college also received donated items and people volunteered their time to help complete the chapel, Smith said.
The chapel seats at least 540 people but provides space for additional seating. The chapel features a 116-foot-tall crossing tower, 114 stained-glass windows, bells, statues and hardwood floors.
The college used some of the features from its older, smaller chapel, including some stained-glass windows and the Stations of the Cross.
Some of the contributors who donated money for stained-glass windows did so in honor or memory of loved ones, Smith said.
The college plans to turn the old chapel into a Catholic Cultural Center where they can hold lectures and dances with classrooms downstairs, Smith said.
The college kicked-off its fundraising campaign, dubbed “A Call to Greatness,” in 2016. The college completed the campaign in 2018 and broke ground on the project in 2019.
In addition to regular masses and other worship services, the college plans to make the chapel available to the public for events such as weddings, Smith said. Members of the public also can visit the chapel, as they did the original chapel for years, Smith said. The college will hold baccalaureate services as part of its graduation ceremonies. The piazza offers a space to hold more events, Smith said.
“I mean, as with anything on our campus, this was specifically built for the (college) community, so they get first priority with seating and everything like that,” Smith said. “But the building will be open to the public to come and look at.”
Groups wishing to tour the chapel should contact the college first, Smith said.
“But people have been stopping by for decades now, to stop by, to pray, to look, to visit, so it’s going to be the exact same deal with this one,” Smith said. “I know that a lot of people in the community are definitely going to want to stop off (Interstate) 66 and say ‘what is this castle that we were passing.’”
Arlington-based O’Brien & Keene Architecture designed the chapel. Christendom Vice President for Operations and Planning Mike Foeckler and Chapel Project Manager Pat Haggerty led the initiative as construction began in the summer of 2019.
Hoar Construction served as the general contractor. The company and its team of subcontractors worked for 18 months building the steel frame, the exterior, the slate roof and the crossing tower. The college and the contractors commemorated the laying of the final steel beam in a topping off event in late 2019.
Construction crews worked through 2020 and remained on schedule despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith said.
Christendom alumni and other artists completed the work on the interior. The late artist and alumna Mandy Hain, along with other artists, painted the ceiling of the crossing tower and the lettering of the Sanctus above the sanctuary.
Missouri-based McShane Bell Foundry built the 12 chapel bells. Beyer Studio, based in Philadelphia, restored and installed the 114 stained-glass windows. Lugo Stone, of Lorton, Virginia, restored and installed the antique High Altar, the Altar of Sacrifice, the altar rail and the four side shrines. Rugo also laid stonework for the piazza.
Christendom alumnus Corey Morgan detailed the locally sourced wood used for the chapel. Much of the wood came from the college’s campus along the Shenandoah River, Smith said.
Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, of Ohio, designed, installed and voiced the chapel’s 2,850-pipe organ, located at the upstairs balcony in the rear of the chapel.
The Eternal Word Television Network plans to broadcast the chapel dedication live at 4 p.m. Saturday at www.ewtn.com. The broadcast also can be seen on the college’s chapel project site — chapel.christendom.edu. During the invitation-only mass, the chapel will be filled with the many donors who made the construction of the chapel possible, along with many of the college’s alumni priests, faculty, and staff.
