Xavier St. Katherine Drexel Chapel

St. Katharine Drexel Chapel is one of many projects Landis completed for Xavier University in the years following Hurricane Katrina. Designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, its addition to the campus finally brought to life the original vision of Xavier’s founder to provide a religious place of respite for the university. The massive 400-seat church sanctuary with vaulting octagonal ceilings and detailed limestone walls was built with a completely hidden infrastructure. Indirect light filters in through the numerous perforated aluminum chancel screens and art glass incorporated throughout. Adjacent to the main structure is a small day chapel designed to host daily prayer services for around 20 people. Also incorporated throughout this beautiful facility were several common areas, including vesting sacristies, a reconciliation room, and a conference room. Just outside the building is a meditation garden containing tranquil fountains and benches for quiet reflection and prayer. Surrounded by lush landscaping and fronted by a circular plaza, the chapel draws all points of the existing campus to this special place.