Transformation might not be a strong enough word to describe the complete renovation of the chapel at Columbus Bishop Watterson High School.
Visitors who walked into the expanded St. Pius X Chapel on Dec. 11 for a Mass and blessing by Bishop Earl Fernandes were astounded to see a beautiful worship area that bore no resemblance to the former chapel.
Gone were the plastic chairs and a simple altar, replaced by a resplendent main altar, traditional reredos with a newly acquired tabernacle, refurbished wooden pews, restored stained glass windows, a traditional confessional, statues and Stations of the Cross.
Work was completed this fall on the project, which began earlier this year after the school determined in 2023 that upgrades were needed to provide a beautiful chapel for students to deepen their faith life through prayer, Masses and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
“We hope this chapel will be a place where Christ comes to dwell amongst the students and teachers who attend this school and who make it what it is – Christ who inspires them, Christ who teaches them, Christ who comforts them – and in turn to know He is here,” Bishop Fernandes said.
“We celebrate today the dedication of this chapel – that the Word became flesh and makes His dwelling among us.”
At the beginning of Mass, Bishop Fernandes moved throughout the chapel to bless it and also the gathering of students, faculty, parents, benefactors, clergy and religious with Holy Water.
“A lot of work goes into building a church or a chapel and this will be a beautiful space in which the young people of Watterson can encounter Christ the Lord,” the bishop said in his homily. “Sometimes we wonder, ‘Will young people actually come?’ But I think one of the things is that young people are always drawn to the person of Jesus Christ.”
The new chapel includes a collection of liturgical elements that were mined from several sources outside of Columbus.
The altar of sacrifice, which came from St. Ambrose Church in Pittsburgh, features a painted image of the Last Supper on the front. The reredos, also from St. Ambrose, measures 12 feet, 4 inches at the highest point and was cleaned and restored before repainting. The tabernacle was originally used in the Diocese of Cleveland.
The pews were moved from the former Lancaster St. Mark Church, which celebrated its last Mass in April before the parish was merged with the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption. Tom Long, Bishop Watterson’s industrial technology teacher, modified the pews to fit the new chapel arrangement.
Stained glass windows placed on each side of the chapel were originally part of Holy Family Church, a Polish parish in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania. The windows, which reflect the former church’s Polish heritage, were restored by Hunt Studios of Pittsburgh.
Depicted in the windows are images of St. Uriel the Archangel, St. Gabriel the Archangel, St. Raphael the Archangel, St. Peter, St. James the Greater, St. John the Apostle, St. Dominic, St. Catharine of Siena, St. Joseph, Our Lady of the Rosary, Jesus in the Garden and the Annunciation.
A confessional, which was finished by Cassady Woodworks of the Dayton area, is located in the back of the chapel, providing space for priest and penitent with a screen for anonymous confessions or face to face.
Two angel statues were restored and repainted, and the Stations of the Cross were acquired within the Diocese of Columbus. Statues of the Immaculate Conception in an exterior niche and of St. Michael the Archangel near the main entrance greet visitors upon arrival to the chapel.
A large crucifix from the original chapel dating to 1954, when the school opened, hangs on a wall that is visible from the main entrance.
Deacon Chris Campbell, the school’s principal, commended a litany of individuals who were involved in the building of the chapel, starting with architect John Eberts; Bob Hoying and Dan Pierce of Brackett Builders; Father Paul Noble, Watterson’s chaplain; Ryan Schwieterman, the school’s vice principal; Tim Phillips, Watterson’s director of facilities, and Long.
“But first, I want to thank the Lord for this wondrous gift,” he said. “And also a special thank you to our Blessed Mother because from the very beginning, we turned this over to our Blessed Mother.
“And every time we ran into a roadblock, we went to her because, as she tells us, never was it known that anyone who fled my protection or sought my help was left unaided.”
Deacon Campbell recalled a particular day when multiple roadblocks were impeding progress during construction.
“And it hit me right then that this is spiritual warfare here; the devil doesn’t want this place to be done,” he recalled. “So I went to my office, grabbed my holy water bottle, came in here, prayed some Memorares, the St. Michael prayer, and went to the terror of demons himself, St. Joseph, and they all went away.
“I’m telling you that just all of a sudden the dam broke free and it all came together.”
The opening of the new chapel is the culmination of an eventful fall at the school. Watterson’s football and girls soccer teams both won state championships.
“But I’ll tell you what, this chapel coming together, opening this chapel, blessing this chapel, those championships pale in comparison in my heart,” Deacon Campbell said. “As the bishop said, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is going to take place in here almost daily. How awesome is that?
“Our students get to come in her for Eucharistic Adoration, spending time with our Lord, going to confession in this space.”
Bishop Fernandes thanked Deacon Campbell for his leadership on the project and all those who contributed in some manner.
“This chapel will be here for generations,” he said. “It’s a monument to our faith in Jesus Christ, the faith of the people who built it, even from the smallest worker to the principal of the school to we who are gathered here. Everybody contributed something for generations, so that the faith can be handed on until the Lord Jesus comes.”