Adjacent to the church, the Winter Chapel serves as haven for workers, downtown shoppers, and anyone else looking for a place to escape the relentless pace of modern life. It was designed and built at the same time as the main church, primarily as a way to reduce heat use during the winter’s weekday Masses.
Like the church, the Winter Chapel features Roman-style architecture. Its Tabernacle and many devotional shrines – including one dedicated to St. Anthony – invite worshippers to kneel and pray. Of course, many visitors are drawn to the beautiful Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.
In April 2016, a new organ was installed in the chapel. Built by Jan van Daalen of Minneapolis, it features components from the organ builder Pels of Holland. The organ had been commissioned by a couple building a home in Minnetonka. The house was completed before the organ, and the organ could not be disassembled into small enough parts to get it into the home. So the organ was lent to the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis to be used as a temporary organ during renovations. It was later generously gifted to Church of St. Louis, King of France by John Nasseff and Helene Houle.
