Resurrection of a Chapel.
In December 2014, a fire destroyed the chapel at Presence Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. June 2017 the hospital community gathered to celebrate a special mass dedicating the new chapel.
Prudential Lighting’s MicroCovePro was utilized throughout the chapel to illuminate the walls, alcoves and ceiling above the entire worship space, which is now a celestial scene of stars in a sea of blue.
“When (the fire) happened it was like having the rug pulled out from under us,” said Sister Hedwig Kuczynski, a member of the Sisters of the Resurrection and a chaplain with the hospital’s department of spiritual care. “We were devastated.””Now we’re rejoicing,” Kuczynski said. “I feel like it’s a resurrection for the chapel and for the whole community, because many people felt that it was an important part of their life.” Kuczynski compared the features of the restored chapel to a bride on her wedding day: It has something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.
The original crucifix, bookstands and a statue of Christ all have been restored and returned. The choir loft has been transformed into a new interfaith prayer room. Marble from the previous chapel has been borrowed to use in the altar, and shards of the shattered stained glass will be repurposed elsewhere in the hospital.
