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Saint Turibius Chapel
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St. Turibius (1538-1606), the patron saint of the
main chapel at the Josephinum, was the Bishop of
Lima, Peru, in the 1500s. He started the first seminary
in the Americas and was named the first male saint
of the New World. Msgr. Jessing, founder of the
Josephinum, named the main chapel St. Turibius at
the old Josephinum and the tradition continues at
the North High Street location.
The windows in the chapel are known
for the original art displayed in their stained glass.
Created in the 1930s by the studio of Emil Frei, Inc.,
St. Louis, Mo., the Germanic art-deco style glass
design, fitted into its Gothic Revival architectural
framework, is beautiful and instructive. Each window
contains symbols for meditation. The meanings represented
offer knowledge helpful to seminarians studying for
the priesthood.
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There are 12 windows. Ten of these honor saints whose
lives exemplify study as well as other important contributions
to the Church. In the two remaining, one is dedicated
to the Holy Eucharist and the other to the Blessed
Virgin, Queen of Clergy.
Following a renovation in the late 1980s, the current
altar was dedicated by the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio, Archbishop
Pio Laghi, on Oct. 2, 1989, and the relics of Saints
Damien, Cosmos and Turibius were placed in a repository
under the altar.
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During that same time period, a small but noble instrument
was purchased, a J W. Walker organ of Suffolk, England.
It was intended as a sanctuary organ or chant organ
to be a secondary instrument to a Grand Organ destined
to fill the rear loft balcony. (The Grand Organ remains
part of the ultimate vision for the chapel that awaits
adequate funding.).
The Walker organ is an 18th century continuo organ,
being a fine example of the historical type designed
to accompany small groups of singers or ensembles.
It has six ranks of pipes controlled by five stops,
comprising 280 pipes playable on one keyboard; it
is a masterpiece of engineering. The entire mechanism
and pipes fit within a handcrafted cabinet five feet
high, four feet wide and three feet deep. Such continuo
instruments were common in the Baroque era, but are
now rare.
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Despite its limited stops and small size, its voice
has beautifully supported the full chapel aided by
the superb chapel acoustics. Nevertheless, the grandeur
and majesty of an appropriately full-sized pipe organ
remain a major hope for the future.
The Josephinum’s music series, i Fiori Musicali,
presents many concerts in St. Turibius where the nearly
perfect acoustics enrich each performance. On Tuesday
evenings, the Diocese of Columbus tapes Mass with
rotating parish congregations and priests for Sunday
broadcasts on Channel 53.
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Our Lady of Perpetual Help
At the rear of St. Turibius chapel hangs the icon
of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that belonged to the
seminary’s founder, Msgr. Jessing; he understood
the importance of Marian devotion and its role in
formation for the priesthood.
In the Ohio Waisenfreund (December 1896), he wrote:
“In order to promote the veneration of Mary
among the students…they pray the rosary daily.
Moreover, this week we had an altogether special celebration
in honor of the Mother of God. For some time we have
been in possession of an image of Our Lady of Perpetual
Help…, which was painted in Rome … .This
miraculous image … is found on the side altar
… . Through this portrait, our chapel has become
a chapel of grace… for our dear students and
for all other persons who visit and call upon the
powerful Virgin for the sake of her intercession with
God.”
The painting hung in the original St. Turibius Chapel
at the old Josephinum and continues to have a place
of honor in St. Turibius Chapel at the North High
Street campus.
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