St. Joan of Arc Chapel

St. Joan of Arc Chapel is today located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the campus of Marquette University, in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. It was dedicated to Joan of Arc on May 26, 1966 after it had been moved from its previous location on Long Island, New York. It was originally built in the Rhone River Valley in France.

History

In FranceOriginally named Chapelle de St. Martin de Sayssuel, the chapel was built over several generations in the French village Chassé, south of Lyon. Estimates are that it was built around the 15th century. The building was abandoned after the French Revolution and fell into ruin. Then after World War I, the young architect Jacques Couëlle rediscovered the chapel and negotiated a transfer to the Jericho, New York home of Gertrude Hill Gavin, the daughter of James J. Hill, best known as the founder of the Great Northern Railway.

The chapel was shipped to New York in 1927 where it was reconstructed. John Russell Pope oversaw the reconstruction in New York for the new owner, Gertrude Hill Gavin. There it was attached to a French Renaissance Chateau, which burned down in 1962; however, the chapel was not damaged in the fire.

After Gavin died, her estate passed on to new owners, Marc B. Rojtman and his wife, who decided to present the chapel to Marquette University in 1964.

At Marquette

The transfer of the chapel took more than nine months; another eight months would pass before reconstruction could begin. Lucien David and Earnest Bonnamy were responsible for the plans of this second reconstruction.

Notes

*When in New York, the famous Joan of Arc Stone was added to the church. According to legend, Joan of Arc prayed before a statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus, standing on this stone. At the end of her prayer she would kiss the stone. Ever since, it has been colder than the stones surrounding it.
*The tomb of Chevalier de Sautereau, a former Chatelain of Chasse (who was "Compagnon d'Armes" of Bayard) is still located in the sanctuary floor.
*The chapel features Christian artifacts that predate the original chapel, sometimes by multiple centuries, and which have been collected and displayed at the Chapel for years, including ancient Spanish tapestries, coats of arms, various crucifixes, and even a contemporary rooftop. It is one of the few exhibits of items from antiquity at which visitors are permitted to handle or touch the artifacts.
*The stained-glass windows are not original, the owner of the Chapel while in Jericho, Long Island, commissioned the stained glass windows to be done. They were create by Charles J. Connick, finished and installed in 1929. Connick used the stained-glass windows in St. John the Divine, in New York City as a model for the colors of the stained-glass windows in St. Joan of Arc.

References

* [http://www.marquette.edu/chapel/ St. Joan of Arc Chapel Home Page]
* [http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/wisconsin/milwaukee/stjoan/stjoan.html Brief story and pictures]