In 1908, just one year after Br. Benjamin and seven other members of the Xaverian Brothers founded St. John’s Prep; a chapel was built as an extension of the Administration Building, known then as Porphyry Hall.
As secluded as it was sacred, the chapel served as the meeting place for the Brothers to attend Mass together.
Now, over a century later, the chapel has become the beating heart of faith on campus. This year, the sanctuary underwent renovations to modernize the founders’ original vision: a warm and welcoming space for members of the Prep community, grounded in Catholic faith. This effort to develop the chapel into a space befitting its history and importance was spearheaded by Fr. James Ronan ’62, the School’s chaplain. “This place was first built with just the Brothers in mind,” he explains. “But now, it is so much more than that.”
As an alumnus, Fr. Ronan recalls his time at the Prep and experience with the chapel fondly. “At the time, half of the students were residential with the other half commuting in. Those who lived on campus would attend Mass twice a week. It became this gathering space for students living here during that time.” Because the chapel was a space prioritized for those living on campus, commuting students didn’t have the opportunity to experience it in the same way. When it came time to renovate the space, the chapel’s accessibility to the entire community came first.
In another life, Fr. Ronan could have pursued a career in interior design, as made clear from his ideas for the renovation that broke ground in the summer of 2025. Walking in, one might notice that the stained-glass windows really “pop” in the new space. Fr. Ronan achieved this enhancement by suggesting the removal of the carpeting from along the sides of the pews. “The carpets drew the light in the room and drained it of color,” he explains. “With hardwood, the light reflects and illuminates the windows in a new way.”
In fact, lighting played a large role in making the venue feel more sacred. Most of the lighting fixtures over the pews were retained, but much of the lighting in and around the sanctuary has been updated to feature more back-lighting, creating more depth of field and grandeur. The renovation project was far from a single person’s vision, but rather a collaboration to enrich the place. Fr. Ronan contacted a member of his former parish and a local architect, Nick Kremen, to begin designing the space and laying out ideas. The goal? To make the chapel a testament to the Xaverian spiritual values—a notion that factored into every part of the design. Perhaps the most visible update is the addition of the five Xaverian charisms above the altar along the dome. But, the symbolism of the charisms can also be identified in more subtle ways. Fr. Ronan spoke to the simplicity and humility of the sanctuary space, channeling what he calls the essentials of the Mass. “I really wanted to center the space on the four most important parts of the sanctuary: the altar, the pulpit, the lectern, and the tabernacle. These are the most holy parts of the Mass and where the attention should be.”
Similarly, a wall has been erected separating the apse from the altar, helping to bring these elements forward, closer to the pews. Inset along this wall, two smaller stained-glass windows appear—these were moved forward from the back of the apse. “You weren’t able to see them at first glance because they were tucked away, but we decided to move them forward to better present the body and the blood of Christ and the sanctity of Communion. A Carved Covenant The new tabernacle is the most structurally prominent of the renovations. Fr. Ronan says the goal was to place the tabernacle front and center, rather offset to one side, as it was before. “I wanted the message to be that, in this space, Jesus Christ is truly present in the form of the Eucharist."
The tabernacle itself was crafted by Prep graduate Fred Rossi ’80 P’10 ’12, an experienced, bespoke woodworker. Inspired by his time at St. John’s, Rossi’s design intentionally evokes the image of upward motion. “The space was designed with a real uplift, a feeling of soaring,” says Rossi.
Rossi approached the project of the tabernacle from a layman’s perspective. “I saw it from a more theatrical point of view. I used to design and make the sets for the Drama Guild under Br. Ron Santoro, C.F.X.,” he says. “99 percent of people viewing this piece will see it from the audience’s point of view from the pews. In that way, it’s like looking at a piece of set on a stage—a very important and sacred one. I had to make sure it looked right from a seated position from far away.”
Even from afar, the details of the tabernacle were just as important in Rossi’s craftsmanship. “I knew that from far away a lot of the fine detail work would be lost, but it’s still there,” he says. “And for good reason. It’s a special thing, and those who are on the altar can appreciate it.”
Even more so, the piece, as Rossi explains, is like a discovery. “You think you know what you are seeing until you actually come up close and experience it.
An equally important goal for Fr. Ronan was to reconsecrate the space as educational, hence the design emphasis on the anatomy of the presiding area. He worked closely with the Religious Studies Department to interweave the celebration of Mass with what is being learned in the classroom. Fr. Ronan holds Mass twice a week for the School community as well as religious studies classes that can attend, allowing them to connect the curriculum to the preachings of the gospels.
“I try my best to tailor my homilies and readings to that,” he says. “I want what I do in the chapel to support what goes on in the classroom, and vice versa.” Much of the historic features within the chapel have been well maintained. The stained-glass windows remain unchanged. Dense with symbolism and stories of their own, many of these windows were gifts given by families of the School and span more than a century of Prep history. The sanctuary continues to stand as a physical testament to those original Xaverian Brothers who formed the School. But to Fr. Ronan, the space means just as much. “Ultimately,” Fr. Ronan concludes, “the space is warm, sacred, and inviting.”
P.S. What happens when chemistry meets the kitchen? Read about one science class's collaboration with the dining hall to find out.
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