Guadalupe Shrine architect to renovate Carmelite monastery chapel in Michigan

Duncan G. Stroik is one of the foremost church architects in the English-speaking world, the acknowledged leader of a growing movement to return classical ideas of beauty and harmony to sacred architecture.

His recent commissions have included the 2008 Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, WI, the 2009 Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, CA and the renovation of St. Joseph Cathedral in Sioux Falls, SD. A professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame, he authored the book “Reconquering Sacred Space” and is editor of the professional journal “Sacred Architecture.”

However, his latest project is a tiny chapel for a small community of cloistered Carmelite nuns who live, work and pray at the Monastery of the Infant Jesus of Prague, in Traverse City. Although the chapel is also open to visitors for daily Masses and prayer – and has a loyal following among local residents – it is central to the life of the monastic community.

“The beautification of the monastery chapel is exactly the type of project that we love to do,” said Stroik. “The sisters have a great love of beauty, of the liturgy and of tradition, and want to do something worthy of Christ. I love that the project is in Traverse City because it gives me a great excuse to travel up there. The fascinating part of the project is the sisters' desire that the sanctuary be designed to be beautiful and inspiring from the nave as well as from their cloister chapel.”

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