New chapel at St. Norbert incorporates local artistry Rev. James Neilson points out features of the stained glass windows at the Chapel of Norbertine Saints located in Dale and Ruth Michels Hall on the St. Norbert College campus (photo by H. Marc Larson). By Monique Balas News-Chronicle Visitors to the new Chapel of Norbertine Saints at St. Norbert College may or may not sense a different energy infused within the room. But Rev. James Neilson hopes students who enter the room will truly be entering a unique space - literally and spiritually. "This is an environment of learning, thinking, and pondering," said Neilson, an art professor at the school who was asked to design the chapel by the college's Office of Mission and Heritage. "It's for people who are wrestling with the faith. That's the verb to pursue with college students here." Neilson wanted to create a place in which students could connect with its furnishings and decor and help them on their philosophical journey. He used his experience designing a chapel in Burke Hall last month, and his taste for unconventional design and passion for rich colors led him to paint the walls of that chapel red. Neilson joked he was surprised he was asked to do another one. The college's newest chapel, inside Dale and Ruth Michels Hall, officially will be opened to students in a dedication ceremony at 11 a.m. on Thursday. The day was chosen because it is the Feast of All Saints of Premontre, the saints upon which the school was founded. Neilson incorporated input from students, as well as St. Norbert facilities manager Sara Tilque, to create the design of the place. It's a clean, open space with black benches, rather than pews, that allow students to sit either on the benches or on the soft beige carpeted floor, using the benches to prop their heads on their arms. A square walnut altar gleams like marble in the center of the room, created by Cabinet Masters Plus of Green Bay. Neilson wants his students to get a tactile connection to things in the room by feeling things, like the altar - probably to the chagrin of the cleaning staff, he said with a smile. "There are so many things you're not permitted to get near, they're too holy, too sacred," he said. One of the things you can't help but notice are the windows, which are clear stained glass decorated with a minimalist lead design. They were created by Kirschling Studios on Dousman Street, at Neilson's request. "We knew the glass had to do all the talking," said Kristopher Kirschling, manager of operations at Kirschling Studios. The clear glass "will allow the light to come in but keep your eyes from being distracted by what's going on outside. It instantly turns the gaze inward to help be more reflective. That's the idea with all stained glass." Kirschling said he used post-World War II-style art, especially focusing on the work of Ludwig Schaffrath. He picked imported, hand-blown German glass with just the right striations and textures. "I think that's something with minimalism in general, by stripping the design down to the basics you end up with what can seem basic in the beginning but can end up being much more profound," Kirschling said. All the techniques he uses are exactly the same as glassmakers who made windows for Gothic cathedrals in Medieval Europe. "People talk about 21st century technology, Kirschling said. "I like to joke that stained glass is 12th century technology." Working with an independent designer based in Lynchburg, Va., Kirschling arrived at a swirling pattern which Neilson describes as "the breath of God." The rest of the chapel, diffused with natural lighting from the windows, is marked with carefully selected pieces which Neilson hopes will stimulate student minds. There's a crucifix hanging on one wall featuring an African Christ, which Neilson found at F. Kaster Company Inc. in Ashwaubenon. "What is the image of Christ among us today?" Neilson asked. "I think this challenges biases and prejudices." Hanging from the ceiling is an Obi cloth featuring a garden motif. Obi cloth is traditionally worn as kimono belts by Japanese women. And, near the entrance to the chapel, hangs a black-and-white poster of a Middle-Eastern looking woman holding a child. Neilson said the image represents not only the spiritual image of the Madonna and child, but also the archetypal image of "mother" that can serve as a comfort to homesick students. So how did he arrive at the unique items he punctiliously placed throughout the chapel? "Without ever originally intending to make it the U.N. chapel," Neilson said with his trademark sense of humor, "You look for that which was beautiful, that which was available and that which was affordable. It is a very organic process in that effect, it sort of evolved. It became perfect." FYI: The dedication of the new Chapel of Norbertine Saints, inside Dale and Ruth Michels Hall on the St. Norbert College campus, will be at 11 a.m. Thursday.