Sunday, May 11, 2008; Posted: 01:13 PM
That, at least, is how officials at Holy Apostles College and Seminary envisioned it when they unveiled plans for their new $4 million chapel two years ago. It was a majestic structure with soaring stained glass windows, spiraling columns and, of course, that dome.
But now, those plans may have to be scaled back. Some, like the dome, have been scrapped. And officials at the state's only Roman Catholic seminary blame a culprit a continent away: the euro.
The new chapel, designed by a former seminarian from Germany, was to be largely built in Europe by German engineers and artisans, then shipped to Connecticut for assembly.
Now, thanks to a falling dollar and a rising euro, projected costs have ballooned to around $5 million. It's an unworkable number for Holy Apostles, an institution unaccustomed to raising more money than a student's tuition.
Recently, the seminary's board of directors decided to shed the Germans, pare down the plans and shop for a domestic contractor.
Chalk up another casualty to an economy that encourages more conserving than splurging. "It's disappointing," said the Very Rev. Douglas Mosey, president and rector of Holy Apostles. "I'm going through a little grieving time."
A new house of worship has been a long time coming for Holy Apostles, which occupies a campus tucked away in the hills and woods off Route 99. Since it opened in 1957, administrators, seminarians and students there have used a converted tool and paint shed as the chapel.
The low-slung, white clapboard structure has a certain rustic charm. But it has proved far too cramped for Holy Apostles' growing enrollment. Its acoustics are bad and it lacks a basement, let alone a foundation.
When the Rev. Paulus-Maria Tautz, a former seminarian, drew up plans for a new chapel in 2006, it seemed to answer all of Holy Apostles' prayers. Shaped like an octagon, the chapel had ample space for pews, a second-story choir loft and a Gothic-style basement with stone walls.
Tautz also reached out to contractors in Germany who agreed to build the majority of the chapel in prefabricated pieces. Workers would then assemble them in Cromwell.
Plans hummed. Holy Apostles officials raised over $2 million from private donors and this month planned to kick off another $2 million public fundraising campaign, the seminary's largest in at least 15 years. The German contractors even visited Holy Apostles twice to look at the site.
But all the while, the economy turned downward and costs climbed. Finally, last month the board of directors and the Germans agreed the project was no longer feasible, said Tom Groark, chairman of the building committee.
The chapel's basic design probably won't change much now. But it won't have that wooden crucifix or those door frames, hand-carved by German artisans. Or the stained glass windows fashioned by German craftsman. "They were beautiful windows," Mosey said, a little wistfully.
And Mosey was skeptical about finding an American contractor skilled enough to build the wooden dome, and about whether Holy Apostles could afford the copper cover. Instead, they may go with a more traditional sloped roof.
Officials also moved back their target date for opening the new chapel, from this coming fall to fall 2009.
Groark said Holy Apostles was now in discussions with two American contractors. He stressed that while plans have changed, the bottom line is Holy Apostles will get a new -- and badly needed -- chapel.
"We're not giving up anything as it relates to space," said Groark, who is an attorney with Day Pitney in Hartford. "Like all these things, some people may even like this one better. Some will like the original one better."
"It will still be very attractive, by the way," he added.
Contact Charles Proctor at .
The Very Rev. Douglas Mosey explains plans for a new chapel in a video at courant.com/chapel
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