Chapel of the Holy Cross

How to Get There

Head south on N State Rte 89A toward Forest Rd. At the traffic circle, take the 3rd exit onto AZ-179 S. At the traffic circle, continue straight to stay on AZ-179 S. At the traffic circle, continue straight to stay on AZ-179 S. At the traffic circle, take the 3rd exit onto Chapel Rd.

Overview

The Chapel of the Holy Cross is a Roman Catholic chapel built into the buttes of Sedona, Arizona. The chapel was inspired and commissioned by local rancher and sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude, who had been inspired in 1932 by the newly constructed Empire State Building to build such a church. After an attempt to do so in Budapest, Hungary (with the help of Lloyd Wright, son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright) was abandoned due to the outbreak of World War II, she decided to build the church in her native region. The chapel was completed in 1956.

Architectural features

Upon arrival, visitors walk up a ramp from the parking area to the chapel. The long, curved ramp is constructed of textured concrete. The main feature of the chapel is a 90 ft tall iron cross on the southwestern wall, which serves both aesthetic and structural purposes. Staude was inspired by the powerful image of the steel framework in the Empire State Building and other skyscrapers. Her idea for the cross was carried out by sculptor Keith Monroe, from San Francisco. The cross holds both the altar and Corpus on the interior.

The effect of the materials pallet combined with the simple angled shapes in the chapel creates an impression of grandeur and strength. This is fitting, as it sits at the base of a 1,500 ft cliff and is surrounded by massive pieces of sandstone. The chapel seats up to 150 people. The confessional, office, two sacristies, and services are located in the basement of the building.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Chapel of the Holy Cross (Sedona, Arizona)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0