Story of Our Lady of the Woods Chapel
In 2001, Bellarmine University officials dedicated a remarkable new building: Our Lady of the Woods Chapel. For
the first time in the university’s history, there was a space devoted
solely to inclusive spirituality and community worship.
And what a space it is: an airy, open sanctuary filled with inspirational artwork.
Plans
for the chapel were years in the making. The dream was fulfilled under
current President Joseph J. McGowan, but it began with Msgr. Alfred
Horrigan, Bellarmine’s founding president. The story of the chapel,
from Horrigan’s early aspirations to build a Marian shrine to the
insights of the artists who made it a reality, can be found in a new
book: “Our Lady of the Woods Chapel.”
Much of the
book was written by Msgr. Horrigan himself. It was completed following
his Aug. 23, 2005, death from papers he willed to Bellarmine.
“Our
Lady of the Woods Chapel” (36 pp.) is available in the Bellarmine
University bookstore. All proceeds from the $10 book will go to the
chapel endowment fund. Preview the book in this downloadable PDF.