Here is the Steeple
- Aug 13
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 16
Our newly-installed steeple will forever transform the campus skyline and call students home to the Church. The 44.5 foot steeple was flown by crane to the top of the 87-foot-tall McElligott Family Bell Tower of the new Our Lady of Wisdom on Friday, August 7. The 13.5 foot cross on top of the steeple brings the total height of the bell tower to 145 feet!
The 13,000 pound steeple, crafted by Campbellsville Industries in Campbellsville, KY, was transported here on two 18-wheelers.
Like in our existing facility, the Bell Tower physically connects the student center and the church.
The difference is that this bell tower is also a staircase to the second floor of the student center!
The tallest building in Lafayette is now the Chase Tower (197 feet tall), but at 145 feet, the Our Lady of Wisdom steeple will still be a prominent mark on the city skyline and will be the tallest building in the vicinity of the UL campus.
The patina-green color of the steeple gives homage to the original steeple (now eclipsed by the live oak trees) that has served us so well these last 84 years.
Symbolically, the steeple is a way of point our eyes toward heaven. Historically, in a time before steel and skyscrapers, steeples were the tallest structures in most cities and were a way of making each church building a landmark, and the most prominent buildings on a city's skyline.
We are especially grateful to the McElligott Family for their transformative gift that made the bell tower possible, and to God for His faithfulness in drawing all generations to himself.
