Inez S. Bull Foundation donating Steinway grand piano to chapel
The 1886 chapel at the former St. Joseph’s Monastery in St. Marys will soon be home to a new Steinway grand piano, creating a space that can be used for performing arts in the area.
The Inez S. Bull Foundation is donating the piano, along with funds to help refurbish the building, which was the original chapel for the former Benedictine Sisters of Elk County.
Zach Hoffman, chair of the Foundation, commented “Our mission is to promote the performing arts in Elk County and at the same time, we have a great opportunity to preserve local history. While the Benedictine Sisters are no longer in the area, a significant piece of their legacy will be preserved with the chapel.”
The chapel, with its white marble altars and breathtaking stained-glass windows, was constructed in 1886 and used as the Sisters’ primary place of worship until 1934, when a larger chapel was constructed closer to Maurus Street. With the new chapel in use, the 1886 structure became the home of the Benedictine Sisters’ Library and remained as such until the convent closed in 2014.
Following restoration work on the building, the Foundation will host a concert to dedicate the piano.
“We will invite each surviving sister from St. Joseph’s to attend so they can see the importance they had in the community,” Hoffman commented.
While the structure will remain a consecrated chapel, the Foundation has collaborated with St. Mary’s Parish, the current owner, to establish a space that can be used for recitals, concerts and other parish sponsored activities.
“There really is no place like it in the area so we’re very excited to see the future and preserve a bit of the past,” Hoffman said.
A date for the dedication concert has not yet been set but will be established once restoration work is completed.