Milwaukee is probably the last place you would expect to discover a French chapel from the early 15th century.
Yet that is where the St. Joan of Arc Chapel, a small medieval Gothic edifice from Chasse-sur-Rhône in France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, stands on the Marquette University campus.
The chapel, originally called the Chapel of St. Martin of Seyssuel, or what was left of it — it was reportedly in rough condition — was sold in in 1927 to a railroad baron’s heiress.
It was then dismantled piece-by-piece and shipped across the Atlantic. A painstaking reconstruction ensued, including reinstallation of a French knight’s tomb from the 16th century.
Other ecclesiastical artifacts, including a stone with purported connections to Joan of Arc, were acquired and the chapel was rededicated to St. Joan of Arc. It would remain on the estate in the Oyster Bay enclave of Long Island until being sold in 1962 and subsequently donated to the Roman Catholic university.
This required the chapel to once again be taken apart with the 30 tons of stone shipped across several states to Milwaukee. It would open again in 1966, giving both the faithful a new place to worship and visitors an opportunity to explore medieval church architecture.
Despite multiple rounds of restoration, reconstruction and even modern alterations, the St. Joan of Arc Chapel gives off an…
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