Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
The Chapel of the Holy Cross is a Catholic chapel built into the buttes of Sedona, Arizona. It was inspired by the vision of Marguerite Brunswig Staude. She’d imagined a cross superimposed on the newly constructed Empire State Building in 1932 and set out to build the grand chapel of her dreams.
After a failed attempt to build the chapel in Budapest, Staude set her sights on her home town of Sedona. She chose a site within Coconino National forest and had to obtain a special-use permit from the Secretary of the Interior to build there.
It took 18 months to build the chapel at a cost of $300,000. It was completed in 1956. The 11 acres on which Holy Cross sits is still owned by the US Forest service, but is managed by the local Roman Catholic Diocese.
It’s a simple, humble structure set in a majestic backdrop. It is too small to host regular services, so it serves as a non-denominational shrine for the thousands who visit it each year.
Sedona posts➤
- Devil’s Bridge
- Bell Rock
- Chapel of the Holy Cross
Location: 780 Chapel Rd, Sedona, Arizona
Designation: National Historic Landmark
Date designated/established: October 6, 2011
Date of my visit: August 23, 2014
Amazing isn’t it, T, standing out against the incredible backdrop the way it does and yet seemingly fitting in. My posts on Sedona also included photos on it.
It is! 🙂
One can argue whether this enhances or distracts from the natural beauty of the space.
I liked it a lot 🙂
I can certainly see the appeal.
We’ve been there! Thanks for reminding me about this cool chapel. ☺️
Thanks for reading an commenting!