Blessed Sacrament Chapel (Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana)

Blessed Sacrament Chapel
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
District	Archdiocese of Indianapolis
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Chapel of Eucharistic adoration for the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
Year consecrated	1924
Status	active
Location
Location	Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana United States
State	Indiana
Blessed Sacrament Chapel's location in Vigo County, Indiana
Geographic coordinates	39.5109°N 87.4608°W / 39.5109; -87.4608
Architecture
Architect(s)	D.A. Bohlen and Son, Indianapolis
Type	Chapel
Style	Italian Renaissance, Classical revival
Groundbreaking	April 9, 1920
Completed	1924
Website
http://www.spsmw.org

The Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana is on the motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Its primary function is as a location for Eucharistic adoration by the Sisters of Providence and members of the public.

History

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, who came to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana with several companions in 1840 and founded the Sisters of Providence, had a strong devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. In December 1913, Pope Pius X gave the sisters permission to hold perpetual Eucharistic adoration, which began at Saint Mary's in a different location on June 10, 1914. For decades the Sisters of Providence had wanted a specific Chapel of Perpetual Adoration, but this was not achieved until the 1920s under the leadership of General Superior Mother Mary Cleophas Foley.

Ground was broken on April 9, 1920, and the cornerstone was laid on June 7 of that year. The building was consecrated on May 19, 1924, by Bishop Joseph Chartrand of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He designated the chapel Chapel of Divine Love, though the sisters referred to it simply as the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.

Interior and art

The chapel is built in the Italian Renaissance style with a barrel-vault ceiling. It was designed by D.A. Bohlen & Son of Indianapolis. Funded in large part through donations from the families and friends of Sisters of Providence, the chapel features multiple types of marble, gold, and silver.

The chapel's focal point is a Carrara marble baldachin. Carved from one piece of marble by the Deprato Company of Pietrasanta, Italy, the baldachin weighs 8,000 pounds.

Nine stained glass windows of Tiffany glass are found in the chapel: four on each side and one rose window of the Holy Spirit above the entrance. The windows were designed specifically for the space and were executed in the Royal Bavarian Studios in Munich, Germany. In order to encourage undivided attention on the Blessed Sacrament, no figures are pictured in the windows.

See also

• List of churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis

References

• Madden, Mary Roger (1991). The Path Marked Out: History of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods: Volume III. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Sisters of Providence. pp. 520–521.

• O'Guinn, Helen W. (2004). Day Trips from Indianapolis, Second Edition. Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot. p. 51. ISBN 0-7627-2974-0.

• Sisters of Providence. "Sacred Places: Blessed Sacrament Chapel". Retrieved November 4, 2009.

External links

• Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
• Interactive panoramic view of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel by Rack Photography