Renovated chapel unveiled

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By Mary Louise Speer | Monday, December 11, 2006 1:20 AM CST | () comments

Sunday’s rededication Mass at Christ the King Chapel was special for many people, but few more so than Edward Littig, the St. Ambrose University vice president of advancement, who has been involved with the on-campus project since day one.

A lot of imagination, combined with practical planning and funding from a capital campaign, gave the chapel a $5.2 million transformation that has turned out beautifully, he said.

The same could be said of the ceremonies held Sunday. The morning Mass was followed by three hours of public tours and an evening vespers service.

“For every occasion, the church has a ritual,” Littig said. The dedication Mass “is a formal service and a beautiful blessing.”

During the Mass, Francis Cardinal George, archbishop of Chicago, rubbed holy chrism oil into the new altar.

“Here may prayer ... resound through heaven and earth as a plea for the world’s salvation. Here may the poor find justice, the victims of oppression true freedom,” he chanted.

Smoke rose as the cardinal blessed the altar with sweet-scented incense and the St. Ambrose choir sang “Lord, may our prayer rise like incense in your sight ...”

About 550 guests, many of them alumni, gathered for the Mass. The morning service and evening vespers were part of a weekend full of events to celebrate the renewal of Christ the King from its original 1953 appearance into a fresh elegance with pews curved around the central altar.

Bishop Martin Amos, the new leader of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport, presided at the vesper service and presented the homily. The observance celebrated the feast of St. Ambrose, patron saint of learning and of the university, with songs and prayers.

The feast date falls on Dec. 7 but the university chose to observe it Sunday as part of the weekend festivities, St. Ambrose President Ed Rogalski said.

Heidi Haessig, a senior, carried the incense at the head of a procession of clergy who blessed the chapel.

“I feel very blessed that I was picked to help, and it was a great experience,” she said. The service especially came alive for her when the cardinal and his assistants blessed the altar with holy oil and incense. “I’ve never seen that before. At that moment, I felt like it was real,” she said.

Ellen Pagan, another senior and a member of the choir, is glad the university decided to renovate the chapel. “I love the altar — it’s definitely beautiful — and that they decided to keep a lot of Father Catich’s artwork,” she said, referring to the 12 stations of the cross crafted by the late Rev. Edward Catich.

The chapel’s rejuvenated appearance will enrich the lives of many generations of students to come, Rogalski said. “The changes you see today make us viable, much more viable, in shaping the lives of our students ... in providing a much more intimate experience of the liturgy,” he added.

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