First Posted: 1/14/2015
LIMA — It’s been a long wait for Lima Central Catholic’s new chapel.
The high school would’ve had the new place of prayer as a part of its additions made in 2002, but it was cut from plans after project funds ran out. So, LCC stuck with the old one, which, attached to the old gym and seated 40, was a part of the original building constructed in the 1960s.
It wasn’t until last year when the idea of a new chapel was revisited. With the help of the Quatman family, the American Society of Ephesus and the Evelyn Quatman Memorial Fund, plans were made to build a chapel central to the school.
“It’s a fulfillment of a dream,” said Walt Klimaski, the school’s president.
Blessed by Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, head of the Catholic Diocese of Toledo, the seventh Our Lady of Ephesus Chapel in the world was available for the prayers of Lima Central Catholic High School’s 310 students.
Students Elizabeth Hanna, a junior, and Jessica Armstrong, a senior, were excited about the new venue.
“It’s really exciting for our school to have a new representation for what we stand for,” Hanna said.
Armstrong said students usually use the chapel for prayer during the school day, such as during study hall.
“It’s a lot more open,” she said. “They did a really good job.”
The chapel’s brick facade was designed to mirror that of the original in Ephesus, Turkey, where Mary lived for a period of time. Its stained-glass windows were a gift from multiple donors as well as a product from local artist Tom Cullen.
Though the school’s weekly Mass will still be held in the gym, the new chapel can hold between 95 an 100 people. It will be used for Mass, retreats and alumni functions, among other activities.
“The chapel really is what makes the LCC,” Klimaski said. “It’s what the school’s all about.”
