Senior Kathleen Ferguson’s jaw dropped as she walked into the newly renovated chapel of Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria.
Washed in afternoon sunshine, the chapel glowed in colors of burgundy, cream and gold. A stained glass window of the Holy Spirit overlooked the sanctuary crucifix, behind which the word “Sanctus” was stenciled in gold. Three blue panels with golden stars served as a backdrop for the intricate golden tabernacle. Marble and cherry wood with gold detailing lended an air of reverence to the renovated chapel.
“It just looks like a completely different space. It’s so beautiful,” Ferguson said.
More than 50 years after it was dedicated, Ireton’s St. Francis de Sales Chapel received a facelift, designed by architect C.J. Howard and handcrafted by Philadelphia-based St. Jude Shop. The chapel’s new altar was dedicated at a special Mass celebrated by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge March 21.
At the beginning of Mass, Bishop Burbidge blessed and sprinkled holy water on the altar, the renovated sanctuary and the Massgoers.
“This is a very proud day for the Ireton community, and indeed, for the entire diocese,” Bishop Burbidge said in his homily. “In the midst of a typical noisy and busy and active school day, one can find serenity.”
“This beautiful chapel, though, will only be the gift it is meant to be if its doors are wide open, and our students and faculty and community members frequently enter into this sacred space,” Bishop Burbidge added. “No matter what our role is in this school, may we constantly invite and encourage our young people, our colleagues, to be here in this beautiful chapel, assuring them that no matter what they’re experiencing in the course of the day, they will find the peace and consolation they are seeking.”
Following the homily, the student choir led Massgoers in chanting the Litany of Saints. Bishop Burbidge then deposited relics of St. Maria Goretti, St. Gereon, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus into the altar. The altar was sealed, and Bishop Burbidge offered the prayer of dedication over the altar.
Bishop Burbidge then poured sacred chrism on the four corners and in the center of the altar. He spread the oil across the altar with his hand, anointing it. A brazier was then placed on the altar; as it burned incense, Bishop Burbidge blessed the altar with additional incense in a thurible.
Ferguson, her father and Ireton alum Joe Ferguson, and two faculty cleaned the altar before it was dressed with linens and candles. Altar servers lit the candles in the sanctuary to prepare for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Before the final blessing, Kathleen McNutt, head of school, thanked all those who worked on the renovation. “As a Catholic school educator, I have seen how a sacred space can impact the heart of any age, from the smallest to the tallest, and I know a significant difference this will make in the lives of our teenagers,” she said. “How blessed we are to celebrate our Catholic identity in such a profound and tangible way today.”
Ireton faculty reveled in the chapel’s beauty. Caroline Duffy, theology department chair, said her students were bursting with impatience to see the new chapel. “All of my classes today were like, ‘Do we get to go into the chapel today?’ ” she said. “When I brought two students down for the first time — who (read) at Mass today — they just stopped and were awestruck by the beauty.”
Ferguson, one of those students, said she looks forward to the chapel “being a space that all our students can enjoy.”
“I really do hope that students come and take this opportunity to especially grow in their spiritual lives,” said altar server and senior Emmett Cummings. “We have a beautiful chapel now, and it’s big; we can fit more people now. So, I’m really looking forward to the future here at Ireton.”
With the Mass of dedication, Ireton became the fourth and final diocesan high school to renovate or build a new chapel in the last 17 years. Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Potomac Shores opened its school doors and its chapel in 2008. St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly opened its new school with its chapel in 2020. Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington completed its new chapel in 2021.
