What We Value / The Arts / Chapel of St. Mary of the Springs

Chapel of St. Mary of the Springs

The Chapel of Saint Mary of the Springs is a prime example of the Dominican Sisters embrace of art as prayer and inspiration. In the construction of the space and in the selection of the artists they exhibited a powerful testimony to the determination to embrace art in their place of worship. They sought a space that would reflect the spirit and culture of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Mary of the Springs, and initiated a search to find Ohio artists who might work with them to furnish this space.

Prospective artists were interviewed and chosen in light of their values, their skills, the integrity of their works and their willingness to collaborate with the congregation on the creation of the new chapel. The Sisters’ desire was to create a seamless worship space where unity and simplicity of design would work in harmony with their modes of liturgical worship and ritual as well as private prayer. The furnishings would fit this space and the artistic creations would be inspiring. The space would reflect their early history when natural springs flowed in abundance through their land at the time of their arrival in the Columbus area in 1868.