Featured Work

Plans for a new St. Paul's Catholic Center, located in the center of the University campus, was designed by the Omaha, Nebraska planning firm of RDG [in charge: Randy Milbrath]. The 14-floor building is to contain housing facilities for students, activity areas, entry atrium and a large chapel. Henry Menzies designed the lower floors including the chapel and the entry area.

The Owner asked that the chapel should be strongly rooted in the classic Catholic tradition but adapted to contemporary needs.

The facade was to have a basically secular aspect but also to suggest a chapel inside.

Menzies solution was to create a dominant barrel-vaulted central space running on the north-south axis from the front facade to the rear of the chapel and a secondary similar space west-east producing a traditional cross plan with a groin vault.Directly under the intersection is located the chapel altar. At five locations within the barrel-form are placed large (18'-0" diameter) round glass windows.

The circle is one of the primary Christian symbols. In its "rose window" form it represents the traditional, universal iconolgy of Christ, the sun. These windows are employed not only to bring natural light into the chapel but also for their beauty.

There are two stained glass windows. One is located on the front front facade of the building to the north, and the other on the back facade to the south. The other three windows are of translucent glass. The translucent glass window between the entry area and the chapel bring in the natural, colored light from the front stained glass.

The Heights Chapel, located in the new wing of the Heights School, was designed to provide a beautiful, dignified and sacred place for the worship of Our Lord in the liturgy and for personal prayer. The architecture of the Catholic Church has always sought to serve the liturgy primarily but also to function as a "catechism" in stone, wood, marble, painting and stained glass leading us from the materiality of things seen to the immateriality of the unseen God.

The Altar is the genesis of the entire design since it is the place of the Holy Mass and the principle object in the Chapel. The top (mesa) is of dark green marble with the gilded inscription in Latin: MATER PULCHRAE DILECTIONIS ORA PRO NOBIS ("Mother of Fair Love, pray for us"). The base is a combination of Indiana limestone and Breccia Pernice marble. Two Credence Tables of green marble & limestone are located on each side of bay window. Suspended directly over the Altar is the Testa [a hanging canopy] of bronze. This is a traditional "tent" structure employed for three reasons: to give the Altar protection and prominence, to house the Crucifix of wood, and to contain the required lighting fixtures. The Crucifix is a realistic portrayal of the Sacrifice of Calvary suspended directly above the Altar where that sacrifice is reenacted each time Holy Mass is said. Within the barrel vaulted Testa and above the Crucifix is a wood bas-relief of a Dove symbolizing the descent of the Holy Spirit.

On the central axis and directly behind the Altar and the Testa is the Reredos Ensemble which consists of a 22 ft 6 inch cheery wood frame in front of the high bay window with two portions: Within the upper portion is a six-foot-high wood Statue of Our Lord as a teenager and His Mother [to whom He has just given a rose]. Directly behind the statue is a tan fabric surrounded by a border of deep blue mosaics with white stars. The lower portion contains a bronze-framed Canopy [6 ft 6 inches wide, 3 ft 6 inches deep and 11 ft 8 inches high]. The Canopy is designed to give prominence and protection to the Tabernacle and also supports the statue above. The sides are of clear glass. The front contains two 10 ft high clear glass doors within bronze frames. Each door has etched figures of archangels: the left door depicts St. Michael (whose motto is: Quis Sicut Deus? Who is like God?) and the right door depicts St. Raphael (whose motto is: Medicina Dei, the medicine of God). These doors are closed: during Holy Mass, to prevent the celebrant from turning his back on the Tabernacle; they are locked at night for security reasons. At all other times they are left open for a clear view of the Tabernacle. Within the Canopy is the Tabernacle, which contains the Real Presence of Our Lord. It is finished in silver and porcelain and was especially designed for this chapel. It rests upon the Tabernacle Table the mesa of which is green marble with the gilded inscription in Latin: EGO VOCAVI TE ("I have called you by your name"). The pedestal below is of limestone on which is affixed the metal Device of the cross-within-the-world, the symbol of Opus Dei. On the mosaic wall behind the tabernacle is depicted the ancient Alpha-Omega monogram (the Beginning and the End) signifying that Our Lord is the beginning, continuation and end of all things. Below are figures of angels adoring Our Lord's presence in the Tabernacle. To the left of the Altar is the Ambo (lectern) composed of cherry wood and limestone with a marble base. On the upper part is located a wood bas-relief of the Eagle. It is a symbol of St. John, Apostle & Evangelist, because his Gospel soars on eagles' wings to the very throne of Heaven.

To the right of the Sanctuary are a group of three cherry wood chairs with cushions. The central chair is for the Celebrant (at Holy Mass) and the two side chairs are for ministers. Facing them to the left of the Sanctuary is the servers' bench of the same material. All of this seating was designed especially for the chapel. In the side alcoves of the Sanctuary are wood statues of St. Joseph, on the left and St. Josemaria Escriva, the Founder of Opus Dei, on the right. In the upper portion of the chapel there are eight stained glass windows consisting of an abstract pattern. The same design is carried to the large (20 ft wide and 16 ft 6 inches high) bay window behind the Reredos. Within the left and right window panels are located the six shields of the Clans of the school.

The Chapel was dedicated on May 3, 2008 by the Very Reverend Msgr. Thomas G. Bohlin, STD, the Vicar of Opus Dei in the US.

Reredos	Cheery wood frame & bronze Canopy: Renovata Studios [Port Chester, NY] Statue of Our Lady & Young Christ: Granda Liturgical Arts [Madrid, Spain] Bronze Canopy Doors, Etched Angels & Mosaics: Rohlf's Stained Glass Co. [Mt. Vernon, NY]
Testa (bronze)	Renovata Studios
Crucifix & Dove	Ferdinand Stuflesser [Ortisei, Italy]
Stained Glass Windows	Rohlf's Stained Glass Co.
Altar, Tabernacle Table, Ambo & Credence Tables	J. Bratti Associates Inc. [Alexandria, VA.]
Eagle of St. John	Ferdinand Stuflesser [Ortisei, Italy]
Tabernacle	designed by Henry Menzies, fabricated by Granda Liturgical Arts.
Sanctuary Furniture	DeFelice Woodworking [Stamford, CT]
Designer	Henry Hardinge Menzies, AIA Architect [New Rochelle, NY]
Architect	Bowie Gridley Architects [Washington, DC]
General Contractor	Keller Brothers Inc.

EXCERPT FROM ARTICLE: The challenge to design a new interior for the Cathedral was a formidable one. The original gothic church, built in 1865, was not designed as a cathedral. This presented various problems which could not have been considered at that time. Furthermore, it was not possible to either retrieve or duplicate the original artwork and accouterments since most had been removed and/or destroyed in the 1978 renovation without any record of the original work available. Consequently, Bishop Lori asked me to "start from scratch" and to bring back something of the gothic splendor of the original church in a beautiful, contemporary vernacular so that while respecting the rich architectural legacy of the past we employ the language and technology of today...

Read the entire article, click here.

The challenge was to create a facade which looked more church-like while blending the new with the old. The tower was built of matching field stone to replace the "alpha" tower and is surmounted by a belfry of concrete arches on all four sides. The roof is batten seam copper. The 12 by 17 foot stained glass window portrays Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, holding the Christ child. The four entry glass doors contains etchings of the four Evangelists. The opposite wall contains a rose window depicting the Holy Spirit.

"Twilight at St. Aloysius Parish in New Canaan offers a magical light show when the stained glass in the new bell tower glows brightly, inviting the eye to the illuminated Tabernacle." (Fairfield County Catholic)

Architect	Henry Hardinge Menzies
General Contractor	The Deluca Constsruction Co.
Designer, Artist	Rohlf's Stained & Leaded Glass Co.

This was a complete renovation of a church built in 1967. After the interior was gutted, the southern portion including the sanctuary was completely re-designed and a new sanctuary, Blessed Sacrament Chapel, sacristies, vestibules and mechanical rooms were installed; existing pews were re-finished; floor re-surfaced; entire area re-painted and re-lit; all artwork was designed especially for this church.

The focus is on the central altarpiece consisting of a 12 by 19 foot high stained glass window in which is located a two-sided tabernacle behind which is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. The central window depicts the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and the other six rose windows depict the other sacraments.

Associated Architects	Butler Rogers Baskett & Henry Hardinge Menzies
General Contractor	The Deluca Constsruction Co.
Designer, Artist	Frederick Cole (Rohlf's Stained & Leaded Glass Co.)
Photos	Fred George

This large chapel was converted from a ballroom in a Tudor mansion. The Baldachino stands free of the patterned ceiling. The twenty stained glass windows depict, in the upper tier, the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, and in the lower is depicted various angels and saints. Both the altar and tabernacle table have trifoil shaped cross sections, limestone bases and marble tops.

Architect	Henry Hardinge Menzies
Baldachino	DeFelice & Frank
Designer, Artist	Frederick Cole (Rohlf's Stained & Leaded Glass Co.)
Photos	Jon Beckett

The challenge here in a student center just off the Princeton campus was to create a small and colorful sanctuary inside the bay window of an old Victorian house and to light the stained glass both night and day without the appearance from the exterior of anything "churchy" within.

Architect	Henry Hardinge Menzies
Contractor	DeFelice Contracting
Designer, Artist	Frederick Cole (Rohlf's Stained & Leaded Glass Co.)
Photos	Jon Beckett

This chapel in a student center near Rice University was designed around a stained glass altarpiece by Frederick Cole inspired by the Marian window in Chartres, France... a few of the elements [floor tiles and doors] were designed to reflect the early Mexican influence in this part of Texas. Altars are of limestone and marble; the 4-paneled folding doors which hide the tabernacle during Mass contain paintings depicting the four Evangelists.

Architects	Henry Hardinge Menzies and Jack Earthman
Contractor	Bayou Bay Corp.
Stained Glass	Rohlf's Stained & Leaded Glass Co.
Stained Glass Designer	Frederick Cole