Having bid adieu to the glorious chapel that served the community of St. Joseph's Seminary and Newman Theological College for five decades, we await the construction and blessing of a new chapel at the College's new site. We are filled with joy because the impending Beatification of Cardinal Newman allows us to dedicate our new chapel to him: The Blessed John Henry Newman Chapel!
Design for the new chapel has been completed and it will be a beautiful space. The architects at Cohos Evamy have responded to the challenge to translate into stone John Henry Newman's famous poem, The Pillar of the Cloud (1833). This poem is read at the end of every Convocation at Newman College - it will shape the place where our community gathers with its Eucharistic Lord for the Word and Sacrament.
LEAD, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home—
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene—one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that Thou
Shouldst lead me on.
I loved to choose and see my path, but now
Lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.
So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on,
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone;
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.