First 5O years of the College of Saint Benedict (CSB). At first the college shared the facilities of the academy in Cecilia and Gertrude Halls. Cecilia Hall, built in 1881, is described in the 1926 College Bulletin: "Five dining halls with service rooms occupy the basement floor, five reception rooms the first floor, seventeen music practice rooms and five teacher's studios the second, while the third was remodeled in 1924 into a residence hall with an infirmary area. The private rooms are furnished with vanity dressers, tables and settees; each has a large private wardrobe and hot and cold water. A trained nurse is at all times in charge of the perfectly equipped infirmary. A secluded cottage (infirmary/guest house) on the campus, also in charge of a trained nurse, is used in case of contagious illness." Gertrude Hall, built in 1898, is also lauded in the 1926 College Bulletin: "In the basement is the service room fitted with the most convenient shampooing apparatus, irons, electric attachements, etc.--also cloak rooms, locker rooms, a stationery store, a confectionery store, and a kitchenette fully equipped for the serving of light lunches or 'spreads.' On the first floor are administration offices and the chemical and physical laboratories. . . On the second floor is the botanical laboratory and classrooms, well-lighted and each furnished with a special library open to the use of the students. The third floor provides airy pleasant dormitories for those who do not wish to rent private rooms." However, many of the activities of the college centered in the two new buildings, Teresa Hall and Sacred Heart Chapel, which were as up-to-date as Benedicta Arts Center and Regina Hall seem to us now - perhaps more so. Teresa Hall was the height of luxury! It had a library on 1st floor, an auditorium/study hall on 2nd floor, a rotunda (residence area) on 3rd and 4th floors (where some rooms had private baths and every bedroom had hot and cold water) and a gymnasium on the ground floor. (Gable, OSB) The chapel inspired by new architecture, very moderate baroque with its Carrara statues and Sienna marble pillars from Italy (and majestic, granite pillars from Rockville, MN), was a perfect example of its baroque type -- Newman's favorite. However, the college faculty was concerned about the later interior decorating of the chapel. In 1958, members of the art department, Sisters Johanna Becker and Jacquelyn Dubay as art consultants, helped the community restore some of the chapel's original lightness which had seemed so right in the beginning. (Gable, OSB)
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (October 21, 1912). An enclosed cloister walk was constructed to connect the second level of the south side of the chapel to the second level of Teresa Hall at the college. An enclosed cloister walk connecting the second level of the north side of the chapel to Marmion Hall (formation house) was also in the plans. Because later photographs show this south court area without a cloister walk, it may be assumed that the construction workers had to remove the cloister walk shown in progress in this photograph, probably to give more space for the ensuing construction work. However, photographs of early 1914 show that the enlosed north and south cloister walks were added to the chapel immediately upon the completion of the chapel.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (October 28, 1912). One week after the steel girders for the inner walls were installed, the steel supports for the stained glass windows were in place.
Preparing the cornerstone of the Sacred Heart Chapel in October 1912. With the completion of the chapel floor, the Butler Brothers construction crew prepared for the laying of the cornerstone in the area that would place it in the wall near the north side altar. The cornerstone has remained in the same position since 1912 and can be seen in today's chapel to the left of the baptismal font as you enter the great doors from the Gathering Place. On it is engraved: "AD" and "MCMXII" and a cross.
Sacred Heart Chapel interior. The baldachin over the main altar was a crown studded with jewels and supported by six, life-size angels. Because of their distance from the floor, the uniqueness and delicate details of each angel figure could not be discerned. It was only when they were removed during the renovations of the 1980s, that the sisters had an opportunity to get a closer view.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (April 21, 1913). This close-up view of construction on the dome gives some insights into the dangers of working at such heights on an open scaffolding.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (December 16, 1912). An intricate maze of support was necessary to support the roof of such a large building as the chapel. The supports allowed ample room under the roof for a "crawl space" for maintenance work.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (October 21, 1912). The curvature of the outer walls provided a circular "cloister walk" around the chapel proper and around the sacristies in the foreground.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (November 18, 1912). Three separate scaffoldings of varying heights were necessary to hoist materials for the completion of the three levels of Sacred Heart Chapel.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (May 21, 1912). The outline of the foundation in this photo shows the extent of this new chapel. The extreme length of the chapel is 157 feet; the width of the nave 60 feet; the transept 110 feet. This view from the west also shows the proximity to Marmion Hall (upper right) and the infirmary (upper left).
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (June 14, 1912). The final contract for construction was made with the Butler Brothers from St. Paul.
Laying of the Sacred Heart Chapel's cornerstone in October, 1912. Bishop James Trobec and celebrants bless the cornerstone. The cow barn, seen in close proximity to the chapel, was moved farther west 35 years later in 1958 along with the entire farm area.
Sacred Heart Chapel interior, St. Benedict's Monastery. There were four side altars dedicated to the Sacred Heart, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and the Pieta. The Way of the Cross was mounted on the south and north walls of the chapel (two stations are shown midway between the side altar to the left and the Pieta nave to the right). These stations from the old chapel, were painted to harmonize in color and transferred to the new chapel in 1914. These stations had been donated by Mr. and Mrs. Majerus of St. Cloud. (In the re-decorating process in 1958, they were replaced by new stations sculpted by Peter Lupori.) The base of the corner granite pilaster to the left of the Blessed Virgin Mary side altar is the cornerstone. On its south side are engraved: "AD;" "MCMXII;" and a cross, and on its east side: "U.I.O.G.D." "Ut In Omnibus Glorificetur Deus" -- That in all things God may be glorified (Chronicles, pages 144, 146).
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery. This photo seems to point to a previous taking down of the south cloister walk which connected the chapel to Teresa Hall (See photo SBM.11b21). The pile of bricks to the right seem to have come from the dismantled cloister walk, while there is a pile of new bricks to the left. There are marks on both Teresa Hall and the chapel from which the cloister walk bricks may have been removed. Note that the pillars on which the cloister walk rested are still in place. Presumably, the cloister walks were added immediately upon the completion of construction of the chapel.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery. The brick used for the chapel and cloister walks is white sandlime with terra-cotta trimmings and the foundation is Buff Kansas Brick. Other than the Cathedral in St. Paul and the Pro-Cathedral (Basilica) in Minneapolis, there are probably no other churches in Minnesota with large domes, although many have large and costly steeples. There is no wood in the entire structure, except the floors under the pews and choir stalls (which are lying on concrete). There are 10 exits on the chapel main floor and one in the choir loft (Chronicles, pages 142-143).
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (November 11, 1912). With the inner walls of the chapel nearly completed, this view from the roof of Teresa Hall shows the size of the chapel proper.
Sacred Heart Chapel interior, St. Benedict's Monastery. The lovely gumwood pews in the east nave were on a wood floor which was bulit on an incline of 18 inches from the dome to the east entrance. The crossing transept under the dome was occupied by 144 choir stalls for members of the community (forefront). The entrance to the east was the main entrance of the chapel but it entered immediately into the convent corridor. There was no public main entrance. The choir loft railing was terra-cotta. Organs have played an important role in the liturgical celebrations of the community and, in keeping with the tradition of the time, the organ was situated in a choir loft. Sister Imogene Blatz, in an article entitled, "A Century of Chapels and Organs," in Community News, February 1986 (page 4) describes that history from 1914 to 1958: "In January 1914, the Schaefer organ was moved (from the Scholastica Hall chapel) to the choir loft of the new Sacred Heart Chapel by representatives of the Schaefer Organ Company at a cost of $184.25. By 1951, this Schaefer organ, which was purchased in 1904, was in a state of deterioration and beyond repair. On January 6, 1951, the Chapter agreed to purchase a part of a direct electric Wicks organ for $8,600. Plans by some members of the community to place the organ in the north transept where the Pieta formerly stood did not materialize. With advice from the representatives of the Wicks Organ Company, the organ was placed in the choir loft. On August 2, 1958, as the chapel renovation was nearing completion, the Chapter voted to complete the Wicks organ with additional stops at a cost of $9,485 . . . the organ had 1,257 pipes, 29 ranks, 3 manuals (keyboards) and full concave pedal board" (Blatz, page 4).
Sacred Heart Chapel interior. The beautifully carved marble entrance, with its columns of white Italian marble was imposing, but it was not a public entrance. It opened to the convent corridor on the first floor of the main building. The doors were plush leather-covered as were all the side doors leading to chapel.
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). To enhance the solemnity of community worship, the sisters invested in pipe organs from 1904, when this organ was purchased for the chapel in Scholastica Hall, to the present time. Along with the restoration of Gregorian Chant, the Liturgical Movement became a primary focus of the community. For some of its members, in particular Sisters Urban, Cecile, and Gemma Gertken, it became their life's work (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (June 24, 1912). Pouring the concrete ceiling of the first level of the chapel created the floor of the new chapel and prepared for the next step of erecting the walls on the second level (which is the main chapel). The two buildings in the center background are the power house and laundry (Loretto Hall). They remained in place for another seventy years and served multiple purposes.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery, (December 9, 1912). The supports for the roof were inserted into the inner walls of the chapel. Of special note is the huge circular support for the dome on the left of the photograph.
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (June 10, 1912). Within a month of the laying of the foundation, the walls of the lower level of the chapel were raised. This view from the northeast shows some of the farm buildings at the left of the water tower that still needed to be razed or moved farther west.
Schools in north-central Minnesota (1871-1909). Father Francis Xavier Pierz, an early missionary and friend to the American Indians and the white settlers of the Northwest Territory, chose Rich Prairie (later named "Pierz" in his honor) as his place of retirement in the late 1860's. He had come to Minnesota in 1852 and established missions and parish communities throughout the Northwest Territory. With luring descriptions of the rich soil and a moderate climate he invited German Catholics living in eastern states to venture moving to this western frontier. A small church, which he built in Rich Prairie, is preserved on the Kapsner farm. Accustomed as he was to living in tents or camping out in his travels throughout the Territory, Father Pierz would describe his little dirt-floor log chapels as beautiful churches. By 1871, the small rural parish he founded in Pierz (Rich Prairie) was ready to welcome the Benedictine sisters as teachers in their log school house. This photo was likely given to the archives by one of the eight Kapsner family members of the Pierz area who joined the Benedictine community in St. Joseph (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Expansion of Monastery (1880-1909). The heart of a Benedictine monastery is the chapel. Because of the very small chapel within the first convent complex, the sisters attended religious services in the parish church during their early years in St. Joseph. To sustain a strong daily community liturgical life of prayer within the convent, a larger chapel was built in the Scholastica Hall addition in 1892 to accommodate the sisters (and often the students) as they gathered several times daily for community prayer and Eucharist. Within twenty years, the sisters were beginning plans for a large church, Sacred Heart Chapel, to witness to the centrality of worship, not only for St. Benedict's campus, but for the surrounding area of Stearns County. (Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives).
Construction of Sacred Heart Chapel, St. Benedict's Monastery (April 14, 1913). The dome, the link between the chapel to the convent, and the south cloister walk connecting the chapel to Teresa Hall were constructed simultaneously. This photo is taken from the roof of Teresa Hall and gives a clear view of the circular cloister walk that surrounds the chapel.