Loyola University New Orleans breaks ground on chapel, gathering space

Loyola University New Orleans has broken ground on a new chapel and community gathering space.

The university says the Chapel of St. Ignatius and Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center will be the sacramental and liturgical center of Catholic life for the Loyola community.

The building will be a circular-shaped and light-filled facility that draws on aspects of Jesuit spirituality and the natural world for its architecture and design. It will hold up to about 250 people.

The building is designed to connect to the natural world, including the circular and interconnecting circles, the long glass slit on the side of the building that will look out on a live oak, and the choice of cast-in-place concrete as the main building material. The latter will be formed using cypress and other types of wood to give the cylindrical building a variegated and natural look.

The $6 million project was launched with a lead gift of $4.8 million from the Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation.

Tobler Company is the program manager and Trahan Architects is the architect for the project.