Early Music Now - Venues - The Chapel of St. Joseph's Center

Chapel of St. Joseph Center Milwaukee
1501 South Layton Boulevard (South 27th Street), Milwaukee, WI
www.sssf.org/

Construction on the St. Joseph Center Chapel began in early 1913, and the chapel was consecrated in 1917. Credit for the chapel goes primarily to Mother M. Alfons Schmid, co-founder of the School Sisters of St. Francis, an international congregation centered at this facility and devoted to serving the poor through education, pastoral care, health care, social service, and fine arts. Mother Alfons was devoted to music and the arts and knew of their importance in stimulating heartfelt worship and expressing holiness and holy mysteries. Throughout the chapel, we therefore note an emphasis on beauty, scale, biblical history, and instructive detail.

Fifteen different types of marble, imported from six different foreign countries, as well as some quarried domestically, were shaped into the tiered Romanesque arches and lofty domes which draw attention upwards, and toward other details in the chapel, which include statues, mosaics, windows, and reliquaries. The chapel is in the classic cruciform shape, with the top section of the cross built, behind the altar, into a smaller Chapel of Perpetual Adoration with design and decorating which matches the large sanctuary.

The over one hundred and fifteen windows constitute the largest collection of Austrian stained glass in the United States. Windows on the first level show the life of Christ on the north side and scenes from the life of Mary on the south. These themes are continued in the large triptych windows on the side wings toward the altar. The balcony features windows with a huge selection of Christian symbols. On the clerestory level, the highest windows show 24 saints with appropriate belongings or symbolism. Interestingly, St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians and artists, is featured on the large window in the rear, in the organ balcony. Unfortunately, although we see angels and attendants at her wedding, no musical instruments are shown. Perhaps the most easily studied windows are those in the vestibule at the rear of the sanctuary. These windows show major biblical events related to the mission and purpose of the School Sisters of St. Francis. Here the quality of the work, including the rendering of specific details, the vivid facial expressions, and the careful shading, can be easily appreciated. The windows continue into nearby rooms, including a priest's vestry, the smaller chapel, a reliquary room, and other rooms behind the altar and hence not on display.

The detailed mosaics on, behind, and surrounding the altar are Austrian. The largest, above the altar, depicts Christ giving the keys to the kingdom to St. Peter. A close inspection of the smaller mosaic on the altar front reveals that it is made of tiny pieces and shows painstaking effort given to depicting the last supper. The other pictorial mosaics feature various additional scenes from the bible, and further mosaic decoration is seen on the altar, floors, and candlesticks.

Other points of interest include seven large reliquaries in the main chapel, each of which holds many relics. The School Sisters have over 500 authenticated relics in these reliquaries and in a separate room upstairs. The Stations of the Cross around the chapel were hand-carved in Switzerland. The Byzantine-influenced pews, confessionals, and organ case are of fumed oak. The present organ, a 35-rank, three-manual of classic design, was installed in 1981.

As you take time to note all of the details, including the subtle lighting, you might be continually struck by the careful blending of all into a total effect. The chapel hosts many arts events each year. Beginning in the 1994-95 season, Early Music Now has used this venue several times.