The Wartburg Chapel
The Wartburg Chapel, completed in 1994, serves as a center for Spiritual Life and Campus Ministry work, including faith initiatives and partnerships across campus. The sanctuary space is the center for campus worship and is also utilized for concerts, weddings, funerals, The Graven Award convocation, and church and community events.
The chapel commons (lower level) includes a classroom/conference room, storerooms, and a large space for community gatherings, faith expression groups, small groups, meals, and fellowship events.
The third floor of the chapel, accessed from the building’s skyway level, houses a Spiritual Life and Campus Ministry office suite, with a reception area, conference room, and pastor offices. Many Wartburg alumni choose to get married in the Wartburg Chapel.
Facility Highlights
St. Francis, wearing a long robe tied around the waist, arches back and extends his arms over his head. His right leg is extended in the air as if he were dancing. In his hands, he holds a sun above his head. A shape of the crucified Christ is cut out inside the sun as if it were a reflection. Beneath the feet of St. Francis is a small crescent moon. The sculpture is mounted atop a flat, square foundation. At certain points of the day, the shape inside the sun casts a shadow of the crucifixion or a dove.
Sculptor – Granlund, Paul Theodore 1925-2003
The sculptural representation of a Neuendettelsau “Lebenskreuz,” or “Cross of Life,” depicts the Seven Acts of Mercy found in Matthew 25:35-40. These acts, also known as the Parable of the Judgments, were a source of inspiration for Wartburg’s founder, Wilhelm Löhe, who also founded a social ministry enterprise still operating today in his hometown of Neuendettelsau in Bavaria, Germany.
More than 300 stones from locations across the United States and around the world fill the Pool of Remembrance on the west side of the Wartburg Chapel. Sent by congregations and institutions, the stones signify the important link between the college and the people who provide Wartburg with students and support its mission with their prayers and gifts.
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