Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Thomas University Planning to Vosko-ize (Wreck-o-Vate) the Campus Chapel

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URGENT: Univ. of St. Thomas (MN) CHAPEL WRECKOVATION
Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 12:05 pm

I got an e-mail. I ask those who live in Minnesota to pay attention to this.

This is about a meeting:

12:45 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, at the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas. Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend.

Dear Fr. Z,

I wanted to make you aware that the University of St. Thomas will again be renovating its main campus chapel. Unfortunately, it is NOT in a more traditional direction.

They are having a campus discussion TOMORROW (Thursday 29 November) with the liturgical "designers" (one of whom collaborated on the dreadful "Art and Environment in Catholic Worship") about the proposed renovations. Essentially, the chapel will become more of a performance space than a "worship" space. (There is an increasing desire to have orchestras, choirs, and recitals in the chapel).

See here:

http://www.stthomas.edu/bulletin/news/200748/Wednesday/chapel11_28_07.cfm

I think it would be helpful to notify your many Minnesota readers, especially UST alumni, about the proposed changes, and encourage them to show up and (non-belligerently) ask pointed questions about whether the new "designs" make celebration of the extraordinary form of the Mass possible, or hinder that celebration. And ask why, as the Church returns more and more toward traditional liturgical architecture, the chapel moves away.

The "designers" also designed the School of Law’s ugly Chapel of St. Thomas More.

Thanks and God bless,


I haven't got a confirmation of this, but the destroyed and reborn Chapel is to be named after Thomas Cromwell, chief adviser to King Henry VIII and uncle (kind of) of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England who later raped and pillaged Ireland just because he wanted to.




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