St. Mary’s Abbey Church - A Guide

A Guide

St. Mary’s Abbey Church

SAint MAry’S Abbey • 230 MendhAM roAd • MorriStown new JerSey 07960

St. Mary’s Abbey Church In 1961, the Benedictines of Saint Mary’s Abbey, Delbarton School, Morristown, New Jersey selected Victor Christ-Janer Associates of New Canaan, Connecticut to design their new church and monastery. e needs of the community of St. Mary’s were presented to the architect, and he was then given the freedom to design buildings that would reflect the spirit of the Benedictines in an age of renewal.

A visionary of modern design, his style was sleek and contemporary, employing the simplicity and inherent beauty of natural building materials. ese qualities reflect the life of the monks of the abbey who strive to seek God through a balanced life of prayer and work. eir communal and personal prayer is based on scripture and the sacred liturgy. eir work consists in the direction of Delbarton School, pastoral assistance in parishes, and service as chaplains in several convents of women religious. e needs of the abbey were many. Living space was cramped; there was no proper church; the kitchens and refectory were inadequate; and there was the hope that the community would increase in numbers.

Under the leadership of Abbot Patrick M. O’Brien, the program was carried through successfully and the new monastery and church buildings were dedicated in the summer of 1966. e lower level of the Abbey Church provides the dining area for monks, students and guests. e building thus serves as a focal point for both body and soul. e new buildings form an organic cluster that incorporates the original 1939 monastery, now named Vincent House, and has allowed for the later incorporation of the Abbey Healthcare Center. e following is a brief description of the Abbey Church.

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e Font e main entrance to the Abbey Church is at its northeast corner. It and the dining room entrance below were remodeled in 2002.

Central to the church entrance is an imposing block of Mankato, Minnesota marble which supports a large pool of blessed water. us, before passing into the brightness of the place of worship, the water as well as the intentional dimness of the space remind Christians of their passage from darkness into the light which is Christ, and from death to new life by the waters of baptism. is is celebrated above all in the Easter mysteries, and so the paschal candle is appropriately placed here.

St. benedict bas relief A walnut bas-relief, carved by a monk of the abbey, also greets guests here. It depicts Saint Benedict, father of western monasticism, holding the Holy Rule, his right hand raised in blessing and welcome.

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e Ambry Here the visitor also encounters the handsome ambry for the reservation of the holy oils which anoint the Christian as priest, prophet, and king in the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation Holy Orders and the Anointing of the Sick.

e Pietà Mary, the Mother of God, Mother of the Church and Patroness of the Abbey stands immediately to the right as one enters the narthex of the Church. She is honored by a life-sized sculpture in which she cradles the body of her crucified Son. is modern Pietà calls to mind the role of Mary in salvation history, as she presents to us her son. Executed in sheet copper

by Mary Eldridge, this sculpture is a happy blending of the traditional and contemporary in ecclesiastical art. e bier of a deceased monk of St. Mary’s Abbey is placed before the Pietà prior to the Office of the Dead and the Funeral Liturgy.

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e Church Upon entering the Abbey Church itself, one is not yet in the sacred area of worship, but in an area apart. e experience of brick, concrete blocks, steel pillars, and rough aggregate concrete flooring reminds Christians that they are members of a pilgrim people awaiting the coming of the Lord in glory. A number of portals give access to the worship area of the central nave. ey are of varying sizes, suggesting the many ways we come to God. Within the circular nave, more refined materials are employed: terrazzo, mahogany, and marble.

Passing through an entrance portal, one gains access to the central nave, multicolored, with the gleaming white of the terrazzo flooring, the deep blue of the girdered ceiling and the dark mahogany of the pews and monks’ choir stalls. e floor slopes gradually to the center, drawing attention to the altar, the source of Christian life and unity.

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e Sanctuary e spacious sanctuary area surrounds the single-stepped predela on which stands the altar. is central object of the church is a five-foot block of Mankato marble, supported by four pedestals of the same material. It is both the rock of sacrifice, and the table of the Lord’s Supper. It is from the altar that Christians derive their strength for the journey. e altar conveys this by its monumentality. Here the people of God join with Christ in renewing the covenant with the Father; here they receive the bread and cup that give life and nourishment in the wilderness.

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e Ambo Just as we are formed into Christians by our sharing in the Eucharist, so too we are formed into a community by the living Word of Sacred Scripture. Hence the ambo is of the same material as the altar and the font of blessed water at the entrance. e desk of the ambo is of mahogany and serves as a worthy throne for the book of the Word.

Presider’s Chair Two steps above the level of the sanctuary, between the two sections of the monks’ choir stalls, and facing the altar, the chair of the presiding celebrant occupies a position of prominence. e concelebrants chairs placed on the level of the sanctuary are of the same basic design and material as the presider’s chair. ese and all the appointments in the church were designed by Christ-Janer Associates, and fabricated by Markey Benziger Associates.

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Processional Cross e monumental Processional Cross and candlesticks match the scale of the Abbey Church. ey are the creation of Brother Martin Erspamer, OSB, a monk of St. Meinrad Archabbey.

Crucifix Above the presider’s chair hangs a crucifix, the bronze corpus of which depicts Christ reigning from the cross. It was designed by the noted Belgian/American artist, Benoit D. Gilsoul, and was an addition to the Abbey Church in 2008. e abbey is most grateful to the Gilsoul estate for this generous gift. e cross on which it is mounted was designed by a monk of the abbey community.

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blessed Sacrament Chapel e Blessed Sacrament Chapel is located to the east of the main sanctuary. It provides a suitable place of reservation for the Eucharist, as well as a quiet place apart for private prayer and adoration. e table on which rests the bronze and rosewood tabernacle is of the same marble as the altar of sacrifice, the ambo and the font. e burning lamp beside the tabernacle symbolizes Christ’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament and keeps constant vigil. e large painting behind the table of reservation, “Christ the Teacher,” by Brenda Bettinson, depicts the Lord in the traditional posture of teacher. e large figure on the right seems to represent the Christian who is always being formed by the Incarnate Word through the liturgy, the word, and prayer. On the left side of the painting is an apostle figure holding a net showing that when taught by Christ we each become teachers and fishers of people. e contemporary style of this painting, its warm and muted coloring, add a fitting richness to this room. e large architectural statement, actually a light source, focuses attention on the table of reservation.

Christ ever teaching and forming us abides with us here in the Eucharist.

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icon of Saint John the baptist In the outer entrance to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel hangs a small but important eighteenth-century Russian icon of John the Precursor, as the Baptist is known in the Orthodox tradition.

Saint Maurus Painting On the exterior wall, near the entrance to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel hangs a painting of unknown provenance. It depicts an incident in the life of St. Benedict related in the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great. St. Benedict, in a vision, saw the boy Placidus drowning in an adjacent lake. Benedict orders the young monk Maurus, to the rescue.

Maurus, empowered by his obedience, is enabled to run upon the water and to draw Placidus to safety.

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book of remembrance Adjacent to the south entrance to the church, and beneath an icon of Saint Joseph, stands a lectern, crafted by a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey. It holds a book in which can be written the names of those whom the monastic community is asked to remember in prayer and at Mass.

e organ e organ is located on the west side of the church. e original pipework and the mechanical action were built in Germany

by August Laukhuff and installed by Eric Fiss in 1968. e organ was extensively renovated and expanded, and a new threemanual console and electric action installed

by James Konzelman in 2013.

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e Unity Chapel Also on the west side of the church, behind the organ, is a small chapel which was originally the Lady Chapel.

Later, when the Pietà figure was moved, a monk of the Abbey who was permitted to celebrate the Divine Liturgy in both the Latin and Oriental rites, furnished this chapel for the celebration of the Liturgy in the Eastern rite. e community has dedicated it to the cause of Christian Unity. is chapel also contains a large and elegant book in which are inscribed the names of the donors whose generosity made possible this church and monastery.

icon of Saint Josaphat At the entrance to the Unity Chapel hangs a small icon of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevch, monk and archbishop. He was a 16th century martyr for the cause of the reunion of the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

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interior of bell room e bell room contains a beautiful shrine of the Madonna: a simple antique rose marble column supports a fourteen-inch polychrome wood fifteenthcentury figure of Our Lady. e room also contains an appropriate image, a reproduction of the JeanFrançois Millet painting, “e Angelus.”

Along the sides of the slate-paved ambulatory are several small chapels for the occasionally necessary individual celebration of Mass. ey are simply furnished with wooden altars, ceramic candleholders, and carefully selected crucifixes.

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Abbey Church bells e four bronze bells of the Abbey Church were cast by different founders in the 19th century. ey are mounted in an open steel-frame tower designed and executed by the Verdin Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. e largest weighs 800 pounds, followed by bells of 700, 600, and 175 pounds. e notes heard are A, G, D, and F#.

e Ambulatory A handsome ambulatory connects the Abbey Church with the monastery. it begins in the pentagonal brick bell room from which are rung the four abbey bells hanging in the exterior tower.

Stations of the Cross Gesso panels, sculpted by John Riva, hang along this corridor. î “ey portray the traditional fourteen Stations of the Cross in a contemporary manner. Below each, a small wooden cross is mounted on the wall.

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WE HOPE THAT yOU ENJOyED yOUR TOUR OF THE ST. MARy’S ABBEy CHURCH. ALL ARE WELCOME TO JOIN THE MONKS OF ST. MARy’S ABBEy AS THEy WORSHIP THE LORD IN THIS SACRED PLACE.

PHOTOS: Jessica Fiddes, Peter Kleinschmidt/Peter Wallburg Studios,

5 West Studios, St. Mary’s Abbey Archives, Derek Speedy ‘14

A Guide

St. Mary’s Abbey Church

SAint MAry’S Abbey • 230 MendhAM roAd • MorriStown new JerSey 07960