Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel Takes Shape
Funding Still Needed
(Spring 2008 Newsletter)
Nearly three years since breaking ground, Our Lady of the Most
Holy Trinity Chapel is taking shape. As the weeks pass by, the remaining
parts of the façade are being hung, tiles are being placed
on the dome over the sanctuary, and the interior becomes more finished
and more lovely each day, as can be seen in the photographs that
accompany this article.
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| Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity
Chapel has become a presence on the campus, where excitement
grows with each passing week. Moreover, its bell tower and dome
can be seen from both directions along Highway 150, which passes
by the College's front gat. The exterior scaffolding is due
to be taken down in the early summer. |
To date, over $16 million has been donated by generous friends of
the College for the erection of this crown jewel of the campus.
$10 million alone came from the Dan Murphy Foundation in Los Angeles,
and the College shall be forever grateful to Sir Daniel Donohue
and all the trustees of the Foundation for the magnificent gift
that allowed this project to begin.
Recently, a substantial gift was made for this project by Scott
and Lannette Turicchi, and for this, too, the College is deeply
grateful. (An interview with the Turicchis
can be found here.)
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| This bas-relief (shown in clay)
depicts each of the persons of the Blessed Trinity at the Coronation
of Our Lady; it will be placed just above the main entrance
to Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel. |
There are many others who have been motivated to contribute to
this unique endeavor—some in memory of loved ones, others to
honor the living, and still more in thanksgiving for the good that
Thomas Aquinas College contributes to the Church and to the nation.
In all, there are more than 2,300 souls who have come together to
help make Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel a reality.
But there is much left to be done, and a $6 million gap to be closed.
Says President Thomas Dillon, "We are hopeful that the ranks
of contributors to this chapel project will continue to grow in
the months to come. All who visit it are deeply moved by its beauty
and grandeur, and the sense of permanence and tradition it conveys.
They want to be part of this magnificent undertaking."
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(Above) Following the custom of many
Roman churches, a dove-a symbol of the Holy Spirit-hovers
in the ceiling of the lantern that tops the dome over the
Chapel's sanctuary.
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(Left) This bas-relief (shown in
clay) depicts each of the persons of the Blessed Trinity at
the Coronation of Our Lady; it will be placed just above the
main entrance to Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel.
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The dedication of the Chapel will take place later this year, on
November 21, the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. Between now and then, the College hopes to attain the $6 million
remaining to fully fund the Chapel project so that this house of
God, unencumbered by debt, will be entirely set apart for God from
the first day of its use as a place of worship.
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| A crane hoists one of the final
pieces of the Chapel's limestone façade into place—the
College's crest, supported by angels on either side. |
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| A large crane lifts the dome's
lantern into place. |
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| A statue of Our Lady, Seat
of Wisdom, shown here in clay, will be situated just over the
main door inside the Chapel so it will be seen as one goes out
into the Academic Quadrangle. |
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Spring 2008
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