Chapel of the Venerable Bede - Coral Gables, FL - Stained Glass Windows on Waymarking.com

This chapel combines aspects of a parish church for a permanent congregation of adults along with all the campus ministry functions one expects on a university campus. Besides these functions, part of the complex serves as the preschool for the University of Miami. There are several stained glass windows. While the chapel itself is now closed when services are being conducted, they do have a separate entrance to a gated place which allows anyone access to the building 24 hours a day. From that point one can see most of the stained glass windows.

The story of the building can be seen in their history page from their web site:

"The site of the Episcopal Church Center was deeded to the Diocese of South Florida by the University of Miami in 1951. Thus, although we are located on campus the land is owned by the diocese. [In 1969 the Diocese of South Florida was divided into three dioceses: Central Florida, Southwest Florida, and Southeast Florida. The current owner of the property is the Diocese of Southeast Florida.]

The original U-shaped structure at the Episcopal Church Center at UM was completed in 1952. St. Augustine’s Chapel was located on the second floor (in what is now our chapel library), with a student lounge and kitchen on the main floor. Offices, restrooms, and a small upstairs apartment over a covered breezeway completed the complex.

Jean Flagler Matthews, granddaughter of railroad tycoon Henry Flagler, donated the money to build the current chapel. Construction began in November 1958 and was finished in the spring of 1960. This new chapel was named in honor of St. Bede: since he was a scholar he was deemed to be a fitting patron saint for a college chapel.

Marion Manley, the architect for the original building and for the new chapel, was the first woman architect in the State of Florida. She had been practicing architecture since the 1920’s; by the 1950’s she was a well-established architect with her own firm. The Chapel Ms. Manley designed has superb acoustics, and through the years many students of the University’s Frost School of Music have chosen the Chapel as the venue for their recitals. The Chapel is a marvelous example of MIMO (Miami Modern) architecture."

"For many years the Chapel doors remained unlocked so that students, faculty, and others could enter and pray whenever they felt the urge. However, in the mid-1970’s it became quite popular to steal some of the smaller wooden pipes from the organ: they made the perfect bong! Since we couldn’t afford to continue to provide the most expensive bongs in Miami-Dade County, sadly the Chapel has to be kept locked when not in use. However, a small oratory was added, with a separate entrance, which has twenty-four hour access seven days a week. This oratory has been a place of refuge for many students and others over the years."

Type of building where window is located: Church Address: 1150 Stanford Drive Coral Gables, FL USA 33146 Admission Charge: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Days of Operation: Sunday - Saturday Hours of Operation: From: 12:01 AM To: 11:59 PM

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