Magnificat Chapel

At the center of spiritual life at Villa Maria is Magnificat Chapel. The current chapel was completed in 1964 and the first Mass was celebrated on Easter Sunday of that year (March 29). Mother Mary of Lourdes [Sr. Bernadette Vetter] wrote in The Blue Legionnaire publication: “Patterned on the most recent liturgical directives, our new Magnificat Chapel…is in the simple elegance of its architecture a real Canticle in natural materials-wood and brick, glass, metal and marble-magnifying, glorifying the Lord!”

The chapel was renovated in 1995 to meet the changing needs of the HM Community. Significant changes included the addition of the Eucharistic Chapel, the new wooden altar and ambo placed in the midst of the congregation, and the Mary statue carved by Ohio artist Norbert Koehn. The movable seating allows for expanding the size of the congregation as needed. Richard Podulka of North Park Studio Architects was the architect for the chapel renovation.