"On Sunday nights before the 9:00 pm student Mass I stand at the window in the narthex and look across the reflecting pool on the entire lower mall of the campus framed and filled with a procession of students making their pilgrim way to their Chapel of St. Ignatius. It always feels to me as if the Chapel itself draws them out of their residence halls and along that pilgrim route to their sacred shrine. Could there be anything more beautiful than that at a Jesuit and Catholic university like Seattle University?"
President Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J.
"Our wedding ceremony is our favorite memory of the Chapel of St. Ignatius. What I enjoyed most about the Chapel is the combination of natural and artificial light revealing subtle visual details in the space. With every visit, my eyes can wander again and again aimlessly taking in the texture of all the elements inside.
Some of my favorite elements include the hammered-like cedar and reddened bronze used in the altar, the imperfect teardrop shapes of the soft-glowing pendant lights, and the complex network of angles in the ceiling and walls. I remain in awe over the rugged concrete floor turned smooth and conventionally smooth plastered walls turned rough. No element seems untouched by careful design and placement and every element conveys meaning and purpose. We were blessed with brilliant and clear light on our wedding day and the Chapel revealed all of its intriguing elements."
C. Justin Vamenta, former SU staff
"I love the symbolism, which is in everything from the texture of the walls to the rug to the light. Supposedly, none of the walls can stand without the others, which is a wonderful metaphor for how we can't stand without each other's help."
Madeline Vitek, SU junior
"The light in the chapel is never the same. Suddenly, you'll see light fall on a face or a robe. You never know when it will come or how, which is how he Holy Spirit is meant to be. You don't understand it, but it's there—loving and pure and wonderful."
Farida Abdullah, confirmed at the chapel in 2003
"I never dreamt I would be fortunate enough to actually be working on the campus with this architectural gem (another "miracle" of timing), much less having the blessing of the life-transforming moments here that have shaped me, and the Jesuits and others who have enriched my spirit. "
Katherine Iverson, assistant to the dean in the College of Arts and Sciences
"As an adjunct faculty member, I am on campus only two evenings a week from 6 to 8:05 p.m., usually dashing from Forest Ridge, School of the Sacred Heart, in Bellevue, to teach “Biomedical Ethics” or “Sexual Morality”—often with only 15 minutes to spare. If I can sit down in SU’s simple, focused chapel for six minutes, I can find the life energy there to try again to challenge SU’s insightful students to reflect with me on our real lives from the perspective of Jesus’ “good news.” Thank you for the “holy” space!"
Kevin Hanley, adjunct faculty, theology and religious studies
"It has always seemed telling that the two buildings that violate the street grid of our campus are the chapel and the Student Center. I’d like to think that both are intended to “stick out” as a reminder of what we are about."
Dave Madsen, associate professor, history
"I am very fond of the chapel. The outside takes a little getting used to (I’m more of a Gothic guy!), but the inside is an absolutely wonderful place to worship and, I might add, to hold concerts, since the acoustics are superb. When Joy Sherman has her choirs surround the space and project inward, the experience is sublime."
Robert Deltete, professor of philosophy and director of the Catholic Studies Program
"I remember the chapel before it was there. It was August of 1990, my first time on campus, and I woke early to find a place to pray before my campus ministry interview. I searched in vain, and finally was told by an energetic Jesuit with a big voice and a small stature (the legendary Bill LeRoux, S.J.) that there was no free-standing building, but a chapel space was set aside in Campion Hall that I could use (now the ecumenical chapel).
That moment returned to my memory seven years later, the first time I entered the Chapel of St. Ignatius to offer a prayer. New as it was, I recognized it - here was the chapel I had searched for, that first day on campus. Some things really are worth waiting for."
Joe Orlando, director, Office of Jesuit Identity
St Ignatius Chapel
silence wider than the day finds me completely porous
slides through every cell
softens my eyes as they gaze upon textured walls
burlap with paint dripped down
windows like thick ice below
colored panes above reflecting on walls and ceiling
what could be better
than to become one with this nothing broader than being
to let go of any need to think or move or do
I am part of the emptiness
Poem by Margaret Lemberg, neighbor of Seattle University
"It was my first year at Seattle University and we worshipping in the chapel space in Campion Hall. Our last Mass celebrated in that chapel was bittersweet... but when we processed to the new Chapel of St. Ignatius, we were excited as we walked through its beautiful doors and into our new place to honor and worship God.
During the first year the Chapel was open, we were still discovering so many beautiful aspects of its wonderful design. During a noon Mass, the sunlight came in through the baffle right above the altar for the first time that year and cast the shadow of the Corpus onto the left wall... and we were in awe! It was so beautiful!
That was how it was during the first year of Chapel of St. Ignatius: discovering the colors, the sounds, and the beauty of its unique design.
As a student Sacristan, I remember very fondly the look on the faces of the many visitors that we had: the awe, the wonder, and above all the peace and the presence of God that they felt when they entered through its holy doors."
Davin G. Reyes, '00, former student Sacristan
The six-inch-deep reflection pool provides a peaceful setting for people to contemplate. A box of wild grasses is set into the pond, as is a rock of black Palisades basalt from Mt. Rainier.