On Winning Team Staten Island graduate student helped create design of papal altar in D.C.
By Claudia McDonnell When Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass April 17 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., he will use an altar and chair designed by two students at The Catholic University of America—one of whom is from Staten Island. John-Paul Mikolajczyk, 23, a graduate of Msgr. Farrell High School on Staten Island, and Ryan Mullen, 24, of Manchester, N.H., are first-year graduate students in the university's School of Architecture and Planning. They designed the liturgical furniture as part of a competition jointly sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington and the university's School of Architecture and Planning. Their designs were chosen from a field of 21 entrants in the competition.
Architecture students, working alone or in groups of up to four people, prepared their models and drawings between Jan. 18 and Jan. 23. The entries were judged Jan. 24, and the winner was announced Jan. 29. "There is something very exciting about this work you designed, so focused on what we believe," Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington told Mikolajczyk and Mullen.
"When all those people (at the papal Mass) are looking at this, you can say, ŒHe (the pope) is standing at my altar,'" he added. The Mass is the only Washington public event of the pope's upcoming U.S. visit April 15-20. He will be in Washington April 15-17, and will be in New York April 18-20.
Originally, Mass organizers were going to set up the sanctuary at second base on the stadium's field. By moving the altar to center field, an additional 4,000 people can attend the Mass. According to some estimates, about 45,000 seats will be available for the Mass. In designing the winning entry, Mikolajczyk, a parishioner of St. Adalbert's on Staten Island, said he tried not to think too much about his work potentially being used by Pope Benedict. "That the pope will use our altar hasn't sunk in yet," he said.
Mullen said he and Mikolajczyk "tried to do something simple, but elegant. We were optimistic we had a chance at winning." The two students also designed the lectern and pulpit that will be used during the papal Mass. The winning team was assisted by Rachel Bailey of Napa, Calif., and Victoria Engelstad of Bradley Beach, N.J., both seniors in Catholic University's undergraduate architecture program. Mikolajczyk and Mullen's model includes a 10-foot-by-4-foot altar with a substantial top, a repeating pattern of decorative arches beneath it and a smaller base. The front of the pulpit—also called an ambo—is adorned with images of the Bible and the Holy Trinity. The tall chair back is decorated with Pope Benedict's papal coat of arms. Mikolajczyk and Mullen said they spent an afternoon at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception studying the altar furnishings. "We wanted to incorporate elements that would remind us of Christ's active presence and work in the liturgy," Mikolajczyk said. The 21 designs were judged by a panel that included Msgr. Barry Knestout, moderator of the curia and vicar of administration for the Archdiocese of Washington; Jane G. Belford, archdiocesan chancellor; Washington Auxiliary Bishop Francisco Gonzalez; and Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, rector of St. Matthew Cathedral in Washington.
Msgr. Knestout, who holds a degree in architecture and is overseeing planning for the sanctuary at the papal Mass, praised the winning design for its "delicacy and elegance. "The winners obviously gave deep thought to the design and how it related to the implementation of the pieces. Many of the entries, he added, showed "a strong sense of inspirational aspects." Some of the designs, he noted, "reflect the joy of the Holy Spirit--a beautiful catechesis." The winning design, Msgr. Knestout said, included a combination of bold and delicate designs "that reflect the frailty of the human condition while showing (how) the strength of faith assists us and supports us." Mikolajczyk and Mullen will work with the university's architecture faculty and the Washington Archdiocese to fine-tune the design and actually construct the altar and the other furnishings at the Crough Center, the university's architecture building. The pieces will become part of the sanctuary for the pope's Mass at Nationals Park. In addition, Mikolajczyk and Mullen received a $1,500 prize. A second-place winner received $1,000 and five honorable-mention winners received $500. Mikolajczyk, who earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 2006 from Catholic University, participated in Habitat for Humanity, Students for Life and DC Reads through the university's Office of Campus Ministry. He volunteers as an altar server at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and is a member of the Knights of Columbus and the International Order of Alhambra. Mullen, who earned a bachelor's degree in architecture and a bachelor's in civil engineering in 2007 from Catholic University, expects to earn his master's in December 2008. He also is a member of the Knights of Columbus and participated in Students for Life and DC Reads as an undergraduate. —CNS
Catholic New York - February 14, 2008
Photo by Tony Fiorini
BUILDING PROJECT—Staten Island native John-Paul Mikolajczyk, right, and Ryan Mullen view a model of their winning design for the papal altar and chair to be used during the Mass that Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. They are graduate architecture students at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.