Cadet Chapel

Editor's note: A four-year renovation project on the Cadet Chapel began in late 2019 and was expected to close the chapel until 2023. However, discovery to the extent of asbestos has pushed the expected completion to 2027. Religious service held at the chapel will be moved to other locations including the Community Center. The Air Force Academy will continue meeting the diverse religious and spiritual needs of cadets, staff and families.  

Soaring 150 feet toward the Colorado sky, the Cadet Chapel at the Air Force Academy Chapel is an all-faith house of worship designed to meet the spiritual needs of cadets and staff. It contains a separate chapel for Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist faiths, and two all-faiths' worship rooms. There are two main levels, with the Protestant nave on the upper level. Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist services take place beneath it. Beneath this level is located a large all-faiths room and two meeting rooms. Each chapel has its own entrance, allowing services to take place simultaneously without interference.

The aluminum, glass and steel chapel features 17 spires. There is no significance to this number; original designs were too expensive and changes were made, including a reduction in spires. The changes did not alter the basic design or the interior square footage of the chapel.

The shell of the chapel and surrounding grounds cost $3.5 million to build. The furnishings, pipe organs, liturgical fittings and adornments of the chapel were presented as gifts from individuals and various organizations. A designated Easter offering was taken at Air Force bases around the world in 1959 to help fund the complete of the chapel's interior.

The principal designer and architect of the chapel was Walter A. Netsch Jr. of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago. Construction was by Robert E. McKee, Inc., of Santa Fe, N.M.

PROTESTANT CHAPEL
The tetrahedrons form the walls and the 99-foot pinnacled ceiling of the Protestant Chapel. Stained glass windows form ribbons of color between the tetrahedrons. The colors graduate from dark to light, representing coming from the darkness into the light of God. The floor is gray-white terrazzo.

The chancel is set off by a crescent-shaped, varicolored reredos behind the altar. The 14-by-45 foot reredos represents the arms of God ready to receive anyone who goes there in prayer. Semi-precious stones from Colorado and pietra santa marble from Italy cover its 1,260 square-foot area.

 

 

A sleek 15-foot marble slab, formed in the shape of a ship symbolizing the church, is the holy table, or altar. Four travertine marble legs support the table.

The focal point of the chancel is the cross above it. Constructed of aluminum, the cross is 46 feet, 2 inches high; 12 feet wide; and weighs 1,200 pounds.

Surrounding the curved steps of the altar are 12 kneelers done in needle-point made by officers wives' clubs throughout the Air Force. Each kneeler contains different designs of the cross or Christian symbols as they appear throughout Christian history.

The pews, which can seat 1,200, are made of American walnut and African mahogany. They are sculptured so the end of each pew resembles a World War I aircraft propeller. The backs of the pews are capped by a strip of aluminum similar to the leading edge of a fighter aircraft wing.

Perched in the choir loft above the narthex and reaching the uppermost heights of the chapel, is the classical pipe organ. Designed by Walter Holtkamp of the Holtkamp Organ Co. and built by the M.P Moller Co., the organ has 83 ranks and 67 stops controlling 4,334 pipes. The largest pipe is 32 feet high and the smallest is pencil size.

CATHOLIC CHAPEL

The focal point of the Catholic Chapel is the reredos behind the altar. An abstract glass mosaic mural, the reredos is comprised of varying shades of blue, turquoise, rose and gray tessera, to form a portrayal of the firmament. Superimposed on the mural and depicting the Annunciation are two 10-foot marble figures, Blessed Virgin Mary on the left, and Archangel Gabriel on the right. Above and between these figures is a marble dove, symbolic of the Holy Spirit.

 

In front of the reredos is the altar, a gift from the late Francis Cardinal Spellman, who dedicated the chapel Sept. 22, 1963. The altar is Italian white marble mounted on a marble cone-shaped pedestal. Above the altar is a six-foot sculptured nickel-silver crucifix.

The side walls of the chapel, from floor to ceiling, are panels of amber glass. Between the amber glass panels are strip windows of multi-colored cast glass set in precast reinforced concrete.

Along the side walls are the 14 Stations of the Cross, carved from four-inch thick slabs of marble. The recessed backgrounds in the sculptures are multi-colored tessera.

Both the Stations of the Cross and the reredos were designed and completed by the late Lumen Martin Winter. The figures are done in Carrera marble, from the same quarries Michelangelo drew his stone.

The pews, which seat 500 people, are of American walnut trimmed in satin finished stainless steel.

There is a reconciliation room at the rear of the 55 by 95-foot nave. The Blessed Sacrament Room and the baptistery are located to the left of the main doors just inside the chapel entrance. The walls of this room are Italian marble and Colorado quartz crystals embedded with multi-colored semi-precious stones from the northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

The classical pipe organ, placed in the 100-seat choir loft, was designed by Walter Holtkamp and built by M. P. Moller Co. It features 36 ranks and 29 stops controlling its 1,950 pipes.

JEWISH SYNAGOGUE

Architecturally, the synagogue is a circle within a square, symbolizing the global mission of the Air Force and everlasting presence of God. The surrounding foyer is paved with 1,631 pieces of Jerusalem stone donated by the Israeli Defense Forces.

The walls of the foyer are purple-stained glass panels alternating with green and blue-stained accent windows. The circular walls of the synagogue are panels of translucent glass separated by stanchions of Israeli cypress.

The paintings created by Shlomo Katz in 1985 and 1986 depict a Biblical story. They're divided into three groups; brotherhood, flight (in honor of the Air Force) and justice.

The focal point of the Jewish Chapel is the Aaron Kodesh, the Holy Ark, which shelters the Scrolls of the Torah. The Ner Tamid (Eternal Light) hangs to the right of the Ark. Nested in three Stars of David, it symbolizes the ever-present God within the life of the Jewish People.

In the foyer of the chapel is a display cabinet with a Torah Scroll rescued from the Nazis during World War II. It was found in Poland in 1989 in an abandoned warehouse and donated to the Jewish Chapel in April 1990. This "Holocaust Torah" is dedicated to the memory of all of those who fought against the Nazis.

The synagogue seats 100 and is the only chapel with individual chairs for the congregation. 

BUDDHIST SANGHA

The 300 square-foot Vast Refuge Dharma Hall is the newest addition to the Cadet Chapel. Donated in 2007, the Dharma Hall was built freestanding within the existing structure. It is made of Port Orford Cedar, a rare, fragrant wood used for temple building in Japan, and its simply-proportioned design welcomes Buddhists of all denominations and their guests.

The altar and alcove are constructed of American Cherry and Ash and designed and built by Takayuki Kida, a traditionally-trained Japanese woodworker. The Buddha figure on the altar is Burmese, and the large lion-topped censer is from China. The figure of  Avalokiteshvara, known “Lord who looks down with compassion,” stands near the entry. The arrangement of the altar focuses on the Buddha figure, representing not only gratitude to the historical Shakyamuni Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, born approximately 556 BCE) but the possibility of awakening, or enlightenment. The altar offers appreciation for the four elements of life: earth, air, fire, and water.

FALCON CIRCLE

The Falcon Circle worship area is the result of a request from the followers of Earth-Centered Spirituality, an umbrella of traditions that includes Wicca, Paganism and Druidism. The large stones comprising the circle were removed from the side of the hill overlooking the Academy's visitor center, where erosion threatened to collapse them onto the visitor center. The circular nature in which the stones were placed lent itself to facilitating outdoor worship services.

Following the Earth-Centered community's request, the Academy spent approximately $50,000 to upgrade the area, adding flagstones to enhance the circle's safety and a fire pit to accommodate religious services. Cameras were added to protect the site from unauthorized access.
 

Falcon Circle was officially dedicated May 3, 2011, making it the newest of the Cadet Chapel's worship areas. It is open to use by all religious communities to worship in a manner respectful of other faiths. In the event of scheduling conflicts, the Earth-Centered community receives precedence.

THE ALL-FAITHS ROOM
The All-Faiths Room provides a worship area for smaller religious groups. It is purposely void of religious symbolism so that it may be used by a variety of faiths. Distinguishing faith-specific accouterments are available for each group to use during their worship service.

(Current as of December 2019)