Every nook in Our Lady of the Angels Chapel is a work of art, said Santo Navarria, a nationally renowned mosaic artist and mason from Hunt Valley.
Erected in 1911, Our Lady of the Angels Chapel was originally a sacred space for theology students at St. Charles Seminary. When the seminary closed in 1977, the chapel fell into disrepair.
“When I was first called to look at it, nearly 15 years ago, boy, what a mess it was,” Navarria said. “No one attended to it ortook care of it. Even the altar floor was covered up with rugs; it was devastated with holes.”
Three decades later, the majestic building draws approximately 9,000 Catholic and Protestant worshippers every week. The “jewel box,” as Navarria refers to it, is the heart of the Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville.
“The most exquisite feature of the chapel is its marble,” said Father Leo Larrivee, pastor of Our Lady, who led the campaign to restore the chapel.
“The walls of the nave and sanctuary are veined marble that were pulled out of blocks in Italy and then fitted here to match perfectly,” he said. “You have to see it to believe it.”
Although the chapel?s façade suggests an austere interior, its internal features are “phenomenal works of genius,” Larrivee said.
Walls, arches and walkways inside the church form a cross with transepts and an ambulatory. Seven apse chapels, more than 20 life-sized angels, 15 statues of female saints and an 80-foot dome with stained-glass windows heighten the structure?s stately appearance.
Colorful marble mosaics in the front of the chapel depict the Tree of Life and Mary surrounded by 18 angels.
The chapel?s architectural features are “on par with the Vatican City,” said Navarria, who restores mosaics in churches around the country. The 11th generation mason believes the marble reflects the original masons? love for stonework and artistic competition.
“I was approaching retirement when Father Larrivee asked me [to restore the mosaics], but I agreed to work because it would have been a sin to let this chapel fall into disarray. Looking at the chapel makes you want to be a part of it,” Navarria said. “It brings in different people from around the country ? some come in with tears in their eyes.”
Our Lady of Angels Chapel
Erikson Retirement Charlestown Community
Daily and weekly worship services
410-242-2880
