Angelic beings carved from English oak rest atop the choir stalls in Mercersburg’s Irvine Memorial Chapel.

Each of the 16 angels is original to the chapel and has a uniqueness that is celebrated through their varied facial features, hairstyles, and possessions.

“What I find really inspiring about these is this very subtle reminder of difference and uniqueness,” said School Minister the Rev. Dr. Will Whitmore. “When we think of an angel, we tend to think of a being that is very monosyllabic in the sense that it has wings, flies, probably talks in a high-pitched voice, or is something very pure. But, like these elements, what if even the angels have a uniqueness to them like we do?”

The angels most likely were crafted by carvers from Oberbergen, Germany, a city known for intricate woodworking craftsmanship, Whitmore said.

The chapel, which was dedicated in 1926, was designed by American architect Ralph Adams Cram. While Cram worked with skilled craftsmen on many ecclesiastical structures, the exact carver of the choir stall angels remains somewhat of a mystery, according to School Archivist Doug Smith P ’23, ’24. One candidate is Johannes Kirchmayer, a carver frequently used by Cram.

“However, Kirchmayer usually signed his work with a small ‘JK’ initial somewhere on the reredos, but I can’t find it,” Smith said, referring to the ornamental partition behind the altar.

Another carver who could be credited with the work is Alois Lang.

“We have receipts for the wooden pews in the chapel from the American Seating Company, which employed Alois Lang, which would lead me to believe he did the carvings,” Smith said, “but the receipts are just for the pews and not the ornamental carvings around the chapel.”

The angels are referenced during the Christmas Candlelight Service when the Nativity story is shared. The only light during candlelight, other than candles, is reserved for Gabriel, who rests atop the organ. Gabriel was the herald who told Mary she would be Christ’s mother.

“There are so many things in the chapel that have this amazing detail,” Whitmore said. “I think it’s this reminder in our own lives that those details can set something apart in a unique way and provide us with that ability to see what we’ve never noticed before.”

– Lisa Tedrick Prejean