Mar 24, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Ave Maria University announced plans yesterday to build one of the largest Catholic churches in the United States – the Oratory of Ave Maria. The church will become the spiritual and physical centerpiece for the first new major Catholic university in the U.S. in 40 years. It will also serve as a church for the Town of Ave Maria.
The designs show that the glass, steel and aluminum structure will rise 150 feet above Ave Maria University campus.
Designed by Cannon Design, the 60,000-square-foot oratory uses 3,000 tons of structural steel to form delicate arches, similar to European Gothic cathedrals, that appear to spring from the building's stone foundation. Its aluminum and glass exterior will filter and suffuse natural daylight into the main sanctuary and nave.
The church, measuring 300 feet long and 150 feet wide, will seat more than 3,300 people, giving it the largest seating capacity of any Catholic church in the U.S. The exterior wall at the entrance will feature a 60-foot red-tinted glass cross, with a 40-foot corpus. Inside, the sanctuary features another large crucifix.