The Wheaton Franciscans, Our Lady of the Angels Chapel to be Refurbished Beginning July 1, 2024
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After more than 30 years of normal wear and tear, Our Lady of the Angels Chapel needs refurbishment to include new paint and carpet, electrical updates, the installation of a hearing assistance loop, and cleaning of the stained-glass windows.
The chapel refurbishment project will begin on Monday, July 1, 2024, and is expected to be completed by September 1, 2024.
During the refurbishment project, our worship space will temporarily be relocated to the Our Lady of the Angels Auditorium. Please use Entrance 5 during this time. Barring unexpected issues, we anticipate resuming liturgy in the chapel on Sunday, September 1.
We know that the space is not what defines the church; it is you, the people of God, who choose to worship with us in person and online. Yet, our worship space and ability to provide quality livestream are important. We thank you for your patience as we bring this space, which is so important to us, the TLC that it needs to continue to be a warm and welcoming place of worship.
With deep gratitude to our amazing staff and volunteers and the prayers of the entire OLA community, the OLA Chapel was emptied, and a temporary worship space was set up in the Auditorium.
Mass will take place in the auditorium this Sunday, July 7. Please begin using Entrance #5 to access the Auditorium. We appreciate your adaptability as we transition to this new space.
We are happy to report that we will be able to offer limited live stream capabilities from the Auditorium. Although it is not the same setup as the Chapel, it will allow our digital community and friends to continue joining us on Sundays.
When the chapel was renovated in 1990 and repainted in 2006, the planning committees chose muted colors to make it more expressive and appropriate for the Sisters who regularly worship here. As the planning began for our 2024 refurbishment, the committee focused on “creating a space for holding the Divine presence in ourselves and all the space, time and place we find ourselves in.” (Sr. Lynn Schafer). With this in mind, the committee chose soft colors, focusing on “Assisi Pink.”
“Assisi Pink” or Scaglia Rossa gets its name from the white and pink limestone of Mount Subasio. Subasio limestone runs from gray(ish) to brown(ish)-white to beige and deep pink. The town of Assisi, Italy, was built almost entirely from the limestone of Mount Subasio.
The gentle colors help to highlight the stunning stained-glass windows, the mixed-color marble stations of the cross, and the terrazzo wall base. Painting is expected to continue through the end of July.
An exciting, although invisible, change that is part of the Our Lady of the Angels refurbishment project is the installation of a hearing loop.
A hearing loop is a special type of sound system used by people with hearing aids. It sends sound directly to the telecoil receiver in a user’s hearing device. The system eliminates most background noise and greatly improves understanding of speech and music. Additionally, the sound received is customized by each user’s unique hearing instrument. It is the only assistive listening technology that can broadcast directly to a wide range of hearing aids, making it the most popular option for accessible audio in public spaces.
Two hearing loops will be installed in the chapel, one in the main chapel and one in the meditation chapel. A flat wire loop will be placed on the floor before the new carpet is installed. This nearly invisible change will provide a wonderful benefit for many who worship at Our Lady of the Angels.
“the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name.”
The stunning stained glass windows that surround Our Lady of the Angels chapel were designed by Francis Deck (1918-2001) of Emil Frei and Associates, St. Louis, Missouri. The stained glass was imported from Munich, Germany.
Francis Deck broke away from the traditional stained-glass window design by placing big splashes of magnificent colors and fine line drawings against a backdrop of predominantly neutral grays. On the neutral walls, the magnificent colors of the windows are reflected differently at different times of the day.
Emil Frei and Associates continues to be a family-run business. Today, four members of the fifth generation of the Frei family have been working at the studio since the mid-1990s using a variety of skills culled since childhood. In 2016, Aaron Frei was named the fifth successive generation of the family to lead the firm. Skilled in restoration, cleaning, and preservation of stained-glass windows, it is Emil Frei and Associates we have entrusted to clean and repair this historic treasure.
All good things take time, so we want to let you know that the chapel will not be ready for our use by Sunday, September 1. Please continue to hold the contractors and staff in your prayers. Please continue to “stay tuned.” We will update you as soon as we are able.
The excitement is building as we await the return to our refurbished chapel space. On Sunday, September 22, at 10:30 a.m., Mass will return to Our Lady of the Angels Chapel!
In this final week before the return, our fabulous staff will be returning the Angel wings, moving furniture out of the auditorium and back into the chapel, resetting and testing sound and cameras, and cleaning and polishing in anticipation of the return to this sacred space. Thank you again for your support, prayers, anticipation, and love throughout this process.
We are delighted to welcome you back to our sacred chapel space this Sunday, September 22, at 10:30 a.m. Please remember to use Entrance #7 to enter the building. Entrance #5 will not be open.
Congratulations to the many people who guided and worked on this project. We are deeply grateful for your commitment and your talent. May you be blessed with joy for a job well done!
I have been unable to get my connection to you.
Don’t know what happened. Please keep me
in your address and all streaming.
Thank you so much. Georgene Zibits Fiorillo
Hi Georgene!
If you’re having trouble receiving our newsletter with the livestream links, we suggest re-signing up for our newsletter with whatever email you access regularly. You should receive a confirmation email once you do and you will be asked to verify the email address. https://wheatonfranciscan.org/community/newsletter-signup/
As an alternative, you can always access our public YouTube channel for livestream masses. Sunday Mass is at 10:30am CT every Sunday. We also stream various Feast Days which will be scheduled on our website event calendar. Here’s our YouTube Channel – https://youtube.com/@wheatonfranciscansisters9647?si=wCeQoeBQJ6eYOtzS
Hope this helps!