October 9, 2008

Glorious wood

As a Catholic university, the Ateneo de Manila has several chapels aside from the Church of the Gesù which I've featured during the day and at night. One of my favorite chapels is the Immaculate Conception Chapel in the Loyola Schools. It was redesigned extensively in 2000 by architect Vincent Pinpin and looks very different from when we used to attend Sunday mass there when I was a kid. I love the simplicity of the chapel now, with all its beautiful wood, big windows at the sides to let in lots of sunlight, and the few panes of colored glass up front behind the altar. The crucifix rotates and on the other side is the resurrected Christ, used during the Easter season. The small statue of Mary is a replica of a bigger one which is probably as old as the university. The original statue used to stand in the grand staircase of the Intramuros campus in the late 1800s. It either survived the 1930s fire and transfered to the entrance of the Padre Faura campus, or there was a second statue exactly like the first one. I don't know if I can ever find out for sure, but I do know that the Padre Faura statue was mostly destroyed during WWII. However, the upper portion was salvaged and when the university moved to Loyola Heights in Quezon City in the 1950s, the statue was restored by an alumni class that studied in the Padre Faura campus. That restored statue is now kept in the university archives.

Immaculate Conception Chapel at the Ateneo de Manila University Loyola Schools

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the simplicity as well, from the neat simple lines the furnishings create to the limited use of colors.

Halcyon said...

I think it's nice that they have used light-colored wood instead of the traditional darker woods that you find in most cathedrals. It really gives the place an airy feel.

What kind of wood is it? Something local I suppose?

Anonymous said...

Wood is the value of life. It takes forever to reach maturity and then lasts for centuries if treated with respect. A perfect place for it too.

The village where I was born has an original building that was a church for Methodists. It was later sold to the hamlet who uses it for a town hall.

The benches still used in the town hall have been in used since the middle 1840s. And they are still like new and strong. They were cut from the orignal forests and are walnut.

HZDP said...

I agree with Halcyon, the light-colored wood give people good feelings, haha, hilda, you must be a college teacher, so many school pictures...

Eki said...

Indeed, Hilda, the simplicity of the design and the choice of warm colors are beautiful and very fitting for a house of worship.

Olivier said...

cette église tout en bois est magnifique, j'aime beaucoup la sculpture du Christ.

this church while wood is beautiful, I love sculpture of Christ.

Webradio said...

Hello Hilda !
Christ is very beautiful...
And the design is simple...
Its seems quiet (Paix)...

USelaine said...

I like the pure blocks of colored glass as well, and the simplicity overall.

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of a rotating crucifix before, but what a great idea!

marley said...

Very nice. Great back story too.

I looked at your mystery flowers and now not only do I not know the name of mine but also your nine!

I'm going to do some investigating over the weekend. Watch this space!

Louis la Vache said...

Very interesting, Hilda.

"Louis" is something of a wannabe architect, and is particularly interested in church architecture.

Debbie Courson Smith said...

Warm colors - to make everyone feel welcome.

Jules said...

How wonderful - so pure and simple. it is good it has been saved .

Unknown said...

Very interesting the rotation of the crucifix! I've never heard it before.

Joy said...

When I visited ADMU, I was impressed by the chapel, too.

Thanks for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and leaving your comments. Have a great Monday!

joy
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