Among the rolling hills of Front Royal, a church reminiscent of a Gothic cathedral rises from a grassy field. After nearly four years of construction, Christendom College’s Christ the King Chapel opened its doors at the Mass of Dedication April 15, marking the culmination of the college’s 45th anniversary.
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge dedicated the chapel and celebrated Mass with Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, an 89-year-old former Vatican official, in attendance. Prior to the Mass, Bishop Burbidge, Cardinal Arinze and concelebrants gathered at the old chapel on campus and processed to Christ the King Chapel. More than 700 benefactors and alumni priests and deacons attended.
In his homily, Bishop Burbidge described how the construction of the chapel reflects Christendom’s motto: “To restore all things in Christ.”
“This is truly a community, as conveyed in your mission statement, that seeks ‘to build in your own lives, and in your work with fellow Christians, a mini-Christendom … in which Christ does truly reign.’ Now, you will celebrate this mission and be strengthened for it each time you gather here in faith, leading you to follow Christ and restore all things in him,” Bishop Burbidge said.
During the dedication rites, the choir led the faithful in chanting the Litany of the Saints, after which Bishop Burbidge deposited a relic of St. Thomas Aquinas into the altar. After pouring sacred chrism on the altar and anointing it, he anointed the walls of the church. Bishop Burbidge then blessed the altar with incense, and Christendom chaplain Father Marcus Pollard and Deacon Andrew W. Clark of St. John the Baptist Church in Front Royal processed around the church, blessing the walls with incense. Several altar servers and Christendom staff members then cleaned the altar before vesting it with altar linens. Deacon Clark lit the altar candles and the Paschal candle, followed by Father Pollard lighting the consecration candles, which mark the places of anointment on the chapel walls.
Christendom launched its multimillion dollar “Call to Greatness” campaign in 2016 to raise funds for the $30 million chapel, which concluded in 2018. Designed by architectural firm O’Brien and Keane, the chapel construction began in 2019, led by Vice President for Operations and Planning Mike Foeckler and Chapel Project Manager Pat Haggerty. Prior to construction, the late Pope Benedict XVI blessed the chapel’s cornerstone, calling the chapel plans “very beautiful.”
The Gothic-inspired chapel seats 544 and includes a restored antique high altar, an altar rail, 12 chapel bells and four side shrines. A 2,850-pipe organ from Kegg Pipe Organ Builders adds a Romantic touch to the architecture, and 10 statues from sculptor Edwin Gonzalez depict the Pieta, St. Anthony of Padua and the death of St. Joseph, in addition to others.
Alumna Mandy Hain, who passed away in early 2023, added architectural accents to the church and painted the 116-foot-tall crossing tower ceiling, which allows light to enter just over the altar. Amid a deep blue sky of stars, a golden circular oculus surrounded by angels symbolizes the Eucharist. One of the four archangels gazes from each of the four corners of the ceiling. Hain’s artwork includes the “Sanctus” lettering above the sanctuary, over which hovers the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove.
While the chapel features artists from far and wide, wood craftsman Corey Morgan used Christendom’s walnut trees to handcraft custom doorways and gothic architectural accents.
At the chapel Ribbon Cutting Ceremony April 14, Christendom President Timothy O’Donnell stated that the chapel will help to heal visitors with its silence and beauty permeating the noise of the modern world.
“I hope that here in the chapel, each of you, when you enter inside, will encounter beauty. It’s my hope that each person who enters the chapel will encounter Christ and his super abundant presence, his anticipated presence as the bread of life in the beautiful life of his mother, and also in the lives of so many great saints that will surround and fill up the clear story windows,” O’Donnell said.
Since he first arrived at the college, Christendom sophomore Michael Evich said that he witnessed the ongoing construction for the chapel. “Over the past few months, I’ve been able to go in and see the progress that’s been made, but yesterday I went in, and it blew my mind just how amazing it looked with the artwork,” Evich said.
Christendom staff member Erin Ginter said that the chapel will help students to grow deeper in their faith. “I think it will help raise their hearts and minds to heaven. We’ve already had non-Catholics coming in and saying, ‘I’ll have to become Catholic, this is too beautiful,’ ” Ginter said.
