If I only had one day to spend in Sedona, Arizona, this chapel would be on the top three highlights list. Nestled into the side of a red rock cliff, in one of the town’s vortex areas … it is an uplifting, spiritual experience.
Built by local artist and heiress Marguerite Brunswig Staude … she first arranged for it to be constructed in Budapest, Hungary. The plan changed with the outbreak of World War II and brought the site back to Sedona … at which point architects Richard Hein and August K. Strotz navigated the building and tricky special permits to build on Coconino National Forest land. It was finished in 1956.
Parking area and walkway ramp. There is also parking below the cliff.
Fountain.
View from the top. You can’t help but stand and breathe in the clean air … reflect on life … meditate … feel humbled.
The design is clean, beautiful and ingenious. Here, the cross reflects through the window panes …
… to reveal the red cliff behind you.
Entering the chapel, everyone’s outside voices turn to whispers.
Candelabra by Tony Rosenthal.
Behind the altar, steps leading down to a tiny door where church officials come and go.
Is that an angular halo above the chapel or is it just me?
As we were leaving I felt peaceful and grounded in this special place of many reflections, as it was designed to inspire and invite everyone …
… in the words of Staude … “Though Catholic in faith, as a work of art the Chapel has a universal appeal. Its doors will ever be open to one and all, regardless of creed, that God may come to life in the souls of all men (and women) and be a living reality.”
xoAmy
Gift shop located on lower level.
