OUR LADY QUEEN OF ANGELS: The Interior
The first thing we should realize about the interior of the chapel is that Seton is not in a hurry to complete the inside, in the sense that the making of a beautiful chapel will be an ongoing venture, taken on a step at a time.
Spearheading the interior design is architect Pat Haggerty from the Class of 1991. Pat, many of you know as Mrs. Schuller’s (Mrs. Haggerty) son, the first of her children to go to Seton. He is married to one of Mrs. Vander Woude’s (Miss Lee) sisters and their family lives next to All Saints on Park Street. Another Seton grad architect, Annie Moisiman of the Class of 2008, has made contributions to the interior design. Annie was Miss Everything at Seton her senior year: May Queen, Prom Queen and Miss Seton. She has had many siblings and cousins graduate from Seton and others in attendance now. She is also Father Moisiman’s niece.
Pat, the chief designer, has worked closely with Board Member Mr. O’Keefe. I only know some of what is planned that I can cover here, but more details will be forthcoming after the Board’s October meeting when the plans will be reviewed.
The basic structural decisions of the interior, I don’t know about. They are important decisions and have been considered carefully. The beautification of the interior I will outline here, knowing that it is subject to change.
First consideration is being given to the sanctuary. Mrs. Carroll simply described the overall design as “beautiful”. It will include a stained glass window above the tabernacle which will be the one that is in the current chapel.
The Mother Seton stained glass window donated by the Class of 2006 will also be moved from the old to the new where it will have a prominent place in the back of the chapel. There will be other stained glass added through time.
Also within the chapel will be the depiction of The Divine Mercy which alumna and Polish resident Mary Van Scott donated to Seton at the first event held by OurSeton, the alumni assocication. It has the Polish inscriptin of "Jezu, ufam Tobie" — "Jesus, I trust in You" which this blog has ended with ever since that Polish phrase became known through the donation.
The interior will not be art for art’s sake. That is, there will be an integrated design and purpose for each part, following the theme of the name of the chapel, Our Lady Queen of the Angels. Contributing additional expertise in this area is Seton mom, Mrs. Belcea. She has redone many of the statues at Seton and has an eye for the aesthetically pleasing.
One of her first plans is to move the Christ the King statue from the lobby into the vestibule of the chapel, primarily for its safety from swinging backpacks. A mosaic of Christ the King will take the statue’s place in the lobby. The hallway also will lend itself to art work as one approaches the entrance to the chapel.
Mrs. Belcea has ideas for frescos and mosaics for the chapel. Being considered now are depictions of the mysteries of the rosary involving angels and Blessed Mother.
Two other Seton parents, Mrs. Henneberry and Mr. Byers are also involved in the interior furnishing. One of their projects is to locate appropriate pieces from several sources of items from closed churches. They will begin their search in October after the Board meeting. It was thought that one of their searches might be for pews from a closed church that could become the chapel’s. However there has been a generous offer from someone within the Seton community to build pews as his contribution to the chapel. Certainly, beautiful Stations of the Cross and statues are high on the priority list.
The land that the chapel will be built on was blessed by Father Cilinski after Seton’s opening Mass. During the ceremony, Father Cilinski said that the chapel will be the heart of Seton. It was a beautiful, clear day which we trust harbingers God’s blessings on Seton’s efforts to build a chapel dedicated to His Blessed Mother and to His greater honor and glory.
There is much to be excited about and many ways that will be coming along for us to get involved in little or big ways. The first opportunity is to be part of the planning for events to raise money for the chapel being led by Mrs. McCaa. Contact her by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (703)368-6556.
Jezu, ufam Tobie.