Chapel of the Holy Cross - Sedona, Arizona

I first discovered the Chapel of the Holy Cross several years ago.  I packed the kids in the truck and we were wandering through Sedona enjoying the red rocks and looking for a little back-road adventure.  The huge cross loomed up at us from Highway 179 and in awe and disbelief I turned up Chapel Road to investigate.  The setting was perfect, tucked into the red rocks.  The temptation to climb was almost irresistable.  In fact, I believe I had to pull the boys off the rocks more than once.  We finally made it inside the chapel and the austere beauty stopped me in my tracks.  When I found that I had forgotten to breathe, and remedied that situation, I counted children and was relieved to find that no damage had been done (to the chapel, not the children). 

I drank in as much of the serenity and simplicity as a pre-teen and two teenagers would allow and stored it in my serenity bank to return to when a quiet moment was needed.  Then I turned the kids loose outside again, to explore the tiny flower gardens and fountains for a few more minutes before we continued with our little adventure.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross was the vision of artist and sculptor Marguerite Brunswig Staude.  A student of the great southwest architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Mrs. Staude had come into a large inheritance and also enjoyed success as a religious painter and sculptor.  She had a great desire to give something back to the world as "a monument to faith, but a spiritual fortress so charged with God, that it spurs man's spirit godward!"

After investigating several sites in Europe, Mrs. Staude settled in Oak Creek, Arizona and became enchanted with Sedona.  She saw religious images in many of the rock formations, such as the Madonna and Praying Nuns, and found it to be the ideal setting for her legacy.

"That the Church may come to life in the souls of men and be a living reality - herein lies the whole message of this chapel."  Marguerite Brunswig Staude

For more information and to plan your pilgrimage:

Chapel of the Holy Cross

780 Chapel Road

Sedona, Arizona  86336

928-282-4069

www.chapeloftheholycross.com

References:

www.chapeloftheholycross.com

www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?+=143

www.sedonadrivetours.com/3-chapel.htm

www.tedsimages.com/text/madonun.htm

Copyright 2008 Robyn Dolan