Interior of the Catholic Chapel
"The focal point of the Catholic Chapel is the reredos behind the altar. An abstract glass mosaic mural, the reredos is composed of varying shades of blue, turquoise, rose and gray tessera to form a portrayal of the firmament. Superimposed on the mural and depicting the Annunciation are two 10-foot tall marble figures, The Blessed Mother on the left, and the Archangel Gabriel on the right. Above and between these two figures is a marble dove, symbolic of the Holy Spirit.
In front of the reredos is the altar which was dedicated by the late Francis Cardinal Spellman on Sept. 22, 1963. The altar has a large table top of polished marble mounted on a cone-shaped pedestal. Above the altar is a six-foot sculptured nickel-silver crucifix. Altar furnishings are of high gloss nickel-silver.
The side walls of the chapel, from floor to ceiling, are panels of amber glass which cast soft brown colors across the chapel. Between the amber glass panels are strip windows of multi-colored cast glass set in pre-cast reinforced concrete.
Along the side walls are the 14 stations of the cross, carved from four-inch thick slabs of marble. The recessed backgrounds in the sculptures are multi-colored tessera.
Both the stations of the cross and the reredos were designed and completed by the late Lumen Martin Winter, who created "The Conversion of St. Paul" for the facade of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City. The Carrera marble in which the figures are done was taken from the same quarries from which Michelangelo drew his stone.
The pews, which seat 500 people, are of American walnut trimmed in satin finished stainless steel... " cite
United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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