News

Dahlgren Undergoes Restoration

January 26, 2012

Georgetown’s iconic Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart is undergoing a two-year restoration that will address the 118-year-old building’s structural and foundation issues.

A photo of the renovated interior of Dahlgren Chapel.

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, The rose stained-glass window over Dahlgren Chapel’s entrance door reflects off the holy water font.

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, A photo of the renovated interior of Dahlgren Chapel.

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, A closeup of Dahlgren Chapel’s 120-year-old stained-glass windows.

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, A photo of Dahlgren Chapel and Dahlgren quad.

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, A photo of the Lewnowski family's donated organ, which was constructed and installed behind the chapel’s altar.

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, A photo of the renovated interior of Dahlgren Chapel.

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, A worker removes a stained glass panel that makes up an image of St. Aloysius of Gonzaga during the Dahlgren Chapel renovation.

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, Workers cut out loosely woven scrims to temporarily replace the removed stained glass images while they are being repaired.

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, An old photo of the university laying the chapel's cornerstone on May 19, 1892.

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, A photo of the original chapel in 1893.

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, A photo of the original interior. Stained-glass from Munich, Germany, sits above the high altar in 1893.

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, A photo of daily mass from the interior of Dahlgren Chapel.

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, Members of the Georgetown community gather in an open Dahlgren Quadrangle in this photograph from 1922.

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, A photo of the newly added fountain in Dahlgren Quad in 1989.

Georgetown celebrated the renovation of Dahlgren Chapel April 12, 2014, during the Mass of Thanksgiving at the Celebration of Palm Sunday.

Dahlgren will remain open during the restoration process with the exception of a few hours on weekdays.

Workers began repairing stained glass in the chapel, which is home to the university’s daily Mass, other sacraments and weddings, this past fall.

The chapel houses 16 vibrantly colored stained glass images of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary and saints such as Joan of Arc and Society of Jesus founder St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Though the chapel has had smaller renovations as well as equipment and code upgrades over the past several decades, the current restoration is the first major renovation since the university’s bicentennial.

The $7.5 million project is made possible by a $6 million gift from Georgetown alumni Francis (C’75, L’78) and Kathleen (SFS’77) Rooney and other contributors.

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