The Abbey Church

The completion of the Abbey Church was a triumph for the monastic community and the students of St. Benedict’s College – it continues to serve as a place for the monks and students to come together to praise God in the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. Its austere simplicity is worthy of note – its intent is to focus all gathered on the altar at its center. The 270’ long Church features a striking ceiling crafted of aluminum tiles to look like a Kansas sunrise or sunset. While there was no collaboration between the architect Barry Byrne and the fresco artist, Jean Charlot, the ceiling powerfully draws your eye to God the Father at the head of the magnificent fresco (which we’ll detail later). High on the bluffs of the Missouri River, the Church resembles a ship, with the tower as its mast – Byrne envisioned a ship sailing through the wheat fields of Kansas. At the base of the bell tower is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. With the toll of the bell all on campus are reminded to look to the tower, knowing that Christ rests at its base, providing the spiritual foundation for the campus. Why reserve the Blessed Sacrament in its own chapel? Fr. Daniel McCarthy explains and explores this mostsacred space on page 22. Father Anselm Llewellyn spent more than 10 years preparing to lead the effort to acquire a pipe organ for the new Abbey Church. Funding was short at the time, so the dream of the full organ wasn’t realized until 2002. Four divisions, Great, Positiv, Swell, and Pedal are located above the sanctuary. The Epistle and Gospel divisions reside above the choir and are the principle pipes used for the monks’ prayer. At the west end is the Antiphonal division featuring a significant hooded trumpet. The nearly 2,600 pipes are controlled by the three-manual console in the choir. Br. Karel discusses the Abbey’s pipe organ and its intricacies on page 19.

It was the first desire of the monastic community that the Altar be placed at the center of the Church and that nothing be added to the Church that might detract from it as the focal point. It was their desire that the altar would be a stone table with four legs, but architect Barry Byrne convinced them that such a table might be lost in the grandeur of the space. Thusly the marble altar was designed with its massive brick foundation running through the crypt all the way to the ground. It was decided during construction to raise the altar from its original resting point and two additional steps were added, elevating the celebration of Mass all the more. Massive altar cloths cover the altar according the feast or liturgical season.

the pipe organ

the altar

the choir

Prayer is central to the life of the monk, and it is here that the Opus Dei, the work of God, is carried out in the Liturgy of the Hours. The 174 seat choir was designed based on the choir of the Abbey of Sant’Anselmo, the center of the Benedictine Confederation in Rome. The choir resides between Christ crucified on the Abbey crucifix and Christ glorified in the Abbey Fresco. For more on this see Fr. Jay’s article on page 20.

the crucifix

The cross was a symbol of terror during Roman times, a gruesome reminder of what awaits anyone who dared run afoul of Roman authority. In the early days of Christianity, the faithful began the practice of wearing the Crucifix as a declaration – a symbol to state their belief in Christ – that they, like Him as He approached His death, were not afraid. The Abbey’s Crucifix is suspended directly above the altar. In the double-sided crucifix and fresco our salvation is shown: Christ crucified, Christ in death, and ultimately glorified with the Father. Entering the Church it is nearly impossible not to feel the gaze of Christ from the Cross. As the celebrant incenses the altar at Mass or Solemn Vespers, he pauses and incenses the Crucifix, begging Christ’s intercession for us as our prayers rise to Heaven. “ We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

- 1 Corinthians 1:23-25