St. Joseph’s Infirmary’s Holy Trinity Chapel, dedicated this fall by Archbishop Hallinan, has become the spiritual center of Atlanta’s first Catholic hospital. The Chapel was built through the generosity of the late Esmond Brady, in memory of his mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Burke Brady.

Some of the finest examples of contemporary Catholic art and architecture may be seen in this chapel. The fluency of plan with the compelling sense of balance reflects the reverence and emotional content of a little Romanesque basilica. Abreu and Robeson, architects, achieved this by the appropriate selection of materials and the close coordination of design and the arts. The stone walls of coquina stone, the black Buckingham slate floor, cut into elongated diamond shapes contrasting with the white ceiling and the use of stained and leaded glass windows arranged in varying abstract designs establish the overall mood while the light and dark woods, combined with gold leaf, contribute warmth and richness.

The altar table is made with mensa and base of Rosso Antico di Chiavari marble in home finish with front and sides of inlaid wood. The altar for Mass facing the congregation will be located directly behind the altar railing, which is made of the same marble as the altar of repose with bronze supports which repeat the shape of the bronze stanchions bearing the Stations of the Cross.

Behind the altar table is a large Crucifix whose corpus is carved from linden wood and nailed to an ash wood cross. This Crucifix silhouettes against a marble and venetian glass mosaic. In the mosaic are visible the symbols of the four Evangelists, the triangle of the Holy Trinity, twelve stars representing the Apostles and over a large symbolic chalice a host and the dove of the Holy Spirit.

The mosaic reredos depicts the vision where Ezekiel saw four symbolic animals, which from the earliest centuries have been recognized as types of the four evangelists.

St. Matthew is represented by the animal with a human face because his Gospel opens with the human genealogy of Jesus and His humanity is stressed throughout. The attribution of the lion to St. Mark is because he wrote of the royal dignity of Christ and began his Gospel with an account of St. John the Baptist, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness.” An added reason was that St. Mark was considered the historian of the Resurrection, of which, among other things, the lion is a symbol. St. Luke is symbolically represented as an ox because at the beginning of his Gospel he mentions the priesthood of Zachary and because the ox was usually the victim in the sacrifice of the Old Law. It is to St. John that we owe the most beautiful pages on the Divinity of the Word made Flesh and it is for this reason that he is symbolized by the eagle which soars into the heights.

The Equilateral Triangle is symbolic of the Trinity -- the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Flanking the altar are two large proscenium figures carved in linden wood and with gold leaf representing St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin.

An unusual feature of the chapel is the placement of the Stations of the Cross as freestanding scriptural groups in individual niches. The Stations are very impressive thirty-six inches high three-dimensional figures hand carved from linden wood with a twenty-three Karat gold leaf finish. These figures are placed on five-foot bronze pedestals, bringing them to eye level.

The candelabra and other altar fittings repeat the bronze of the pedestals and the Communion rail. The baldachin, or canopy, over the altar relates to the wood grille over the doorways whose gold leaf ventricles recall the pipes of a great cathedral organ.

The Sisters of Mercy, who own and operate St. Joseph’s Infirmary, begin and end their day in this House of God. This is a semi-public oratory and is open to the patients, personnel and visitors who wish to visit the Blessed Sacrament and give honor and glory to God.

Stained glass, sculpture, mosaic and altar fittings in the chapel were executed by Daprato Studios of Chicago.