COLLEGEVILLE \u2014 It\u2019s a house of worship that belongs to the ages. The monks of St. John\u2019s Abbey will celebrate on Sunday the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Abbey and university church in Collegeville.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s iconic for the campus and for St. John\u2019s; it really is \u2014 the bell banner especially \u2014 the symbol for St. John\u2019s,\u201d Abbot John Klassen said of the church.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, there will be a Eucharist liturgy at the church with Klassen, a concert by the Westminster Cathedral Choir of London and a solemn evening prayer.<\/p>\n
Marcel Breuer<\/p>\n
The Rev. Hilary Thimmesh was on the committee that planned the church\u2019s construction and Liturgical Press recently published his memoir about the regional landmark.<\/p>\n
Thimmesh\u2019s notes from the committee\u2019s meetings almost half a century ago form the basis of his new book \u201cMarcel Breuer and a Committee of Twelve Plan a Church: A Monastic Memoir.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe college was growing after the Second World War,\u201d Thimmesh said of the need for a new church, when there were not enough choir stalls and pews for the monks or the students who attended daily Mass.<\/p>\n
Breuer was the lead designer and architect of the church project. The Hungarian\u2019s design for the church was chosen because of his \u201cunassuming, attentive style,\u201d according to the book \u201cSaint John\u2019s at 150.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t have a big architectural record at that point,\u201d Thimmesh said of Breuer, who at the time was better known for designing private residences and furniture. \u201cBut his manner was just very reassuring.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201cserious,\u201d \u201cmodest\u201d and \u201ccourteous\u201d Breuer met regularly with the committee from 1956 until the church\u2019s dedication in 1961 to plan and construct the church, which includes a 112-foot-high banner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a drive to do something architecturally significant,\u201d Thimmesh said at the time of the release of his 136-page paperback about the church. \u201cHe was very interested in listening to what we thought we needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thimmesh became a monk of St. John\u2019s Abbey in 1947 and was ordained as a priest in 1954.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t actually think we talked much about what it ought to look like, when we initially spoke to him,\u201d Thimmesh said. \u201cHe encouraged us to tell him what kinds of things are we going to do in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
Student reaction<\/p>\n
Max Berger is a St. John\u2019s University student from Chile who said he was impressed by Breuer\u2019s church.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty impressive,\u201d said Berger, a business major who comes from a Catholic family but is not a practicing Catholic.<\/p>\n
Berger first visited the church out of curiosity but has since become better acquainted with it in his job as a campus information desk attendant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get several calls asking about Mass,\u201d said Berger, a third-year student.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think to many students \u2014 and even for me, who is not particularly religious \u2014 the church is an inspiring, like, monument.\u201d<\/p>\n
The church\u2019s colored glass was designed by Bronislaw Bak, a former St. John\u2019s art professor, and installed by the monks, faculty members, students and other volunteers, according to Bill Morgan, a local historian.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were concerned about simplicity … about a kind of honest use of materials. We weren\u2019t going for fancy decorations or things of that sort,\u201d Thimmesh said.<\/p>\n
The cavernous church is built almost entirely of concrete and reinforced steel with a honeycomb-like array of stained glass windows and a massive concrete bell banner out front.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the design of the banner, itself, today would still be striking,\u201d Klassen said.<\/p>\n
Timeless design<\/p>\n
Renowned architect I.M. Pei once said the Collegeville church would be world famous if it had been built in New York City instead of the north woods of Minnesota.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a gift that church is that I, as a monk of this monastery, am truly grateful for,\u201d said Klassen, who was elected the 10th abbot of St. John\u2019s Abbey.<\/p>\n
Klassen attended high school, college and seminary on the Collegeville campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo monastery would have built that church without the university there to fill it. But no university would ever build a church like that by itself because it wouldn\u2019t have the theological and liturgical resources to actually have a vision for a church like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The cost to construct and furnish the church, and the chapter house on the east side of the church, was about $2.75 million, according to Thimmesh.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wears very well and what amazes me is that it\u2019s 50 years old because it doesn\u2019t look 50 years old,\u201d Thimmesh said of the church\u2019s timeless design.<\/p>\n
Klassen became a Benedictine monk of the Abbey in 1972 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1977.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the church, by pulling the altar into the center … architecturally there\u2019s no doubt about what\u2019s central to being a Catholic: It\u2019s the Eucharist and the altar, itself, and what that means,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Brother Frank Kacmarcik of St. John\u2019s Abbey was an artistic consultant to the famous German architect Breuer on the design and construction of the church.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe strong alignment, for example, between the baptistery and the altar made it very, very clear that the way we come into the church is through the sacrament of baptism,\u201d Klassen said.<\/p>\n