Controversy rages over bar’s location in former closed Frederick Chapel sanctuary

FREDERICK — Visitation Frederick’s Wye Oak Tavern, Frederick’s newest hotel, has made a lot of noise since its Dec. 19 opening, and not because it’s run by Frederick’s famous chefs, brothers Bryan and Michael Voltaggio.

Located in the former chapel of the long-closed Académie de la Visitation, the restaurant’s decision to locate the bar in the chapel’s former sanctuary, between the altar and the communion rail, met with strong support. opposition from the school’s alumni as well as the community, with a petition for its removal gathering over 3,000 names.

“They could have set the bar anywhere,” said Elyssa Koren, a 2000 graduate of the old boarding school and leader of the petition. “They really chose the most sacred place to place the bar. You don’t have to be Catholic to find this offensive. There is something very shocking about the placement they chose.

The bar, Koren said, “has the look and feel of a functioning Catholic church” because many of the original features, including the marble altar, angel statues, communion rails and German stained glass windows remain in place. .

“It’s not really respectful of the 150 years of Mass being celebrated in this space,” Koren said.

The Sisters of Charity founded St. John’s Benevolent Female Free School in 1824. The Sisters of the Visitation replaced the Sisters of Charity in 1846 and added a monastery, which closed in 2005 when the Vatican transferred the remaining Visitation Sisters in a monastery in Rockville. , Virginia. The school closed in 2016.

“It’s very personal. I know firsthand what the Visitation meant to the order and to my aunts,” said Virginia Leary-Majda, whose three aunts not only attended the Visitation but took their vows and became Sisters of the Visitation, one of them becoming Mother Marguerite Therese Leary, a strong supporter of preservation. historic buildings.

“You go to chapel by invitation. My aunts taught us it was a very special place,” said Leary, who lives in Los Angeles. “There are some things you just don’t do.”

James P. O’Hare, of O2 Holdings/Lafayette Financial, the developers of the Visitation Hotel, noted that the property was purchased for $2.75 million. The Archdiocese of Baltimore was never involved in the sale.

The chapel was deconsecrated – meaning its sacred character, including the relics of the altar and tabernacle, were removed – allowing the building to be used for other purposes. Many of the chapel’s other religious items, he said, including crucifixes and the Stations of the Cross, were donated to local churches. Two statues, one of Mary, the other of Joseph, which once stood near the altar, are now displayed in the hotel’s courtyard garden, much to Koren’s dismay, as they are too ” of years of history attached to them” to be left aside. elements, she said. A functioning organ remains in the choir loft.

“Because we wanted to respect the chapel’s previous use, we went well beyond simple deconsecration,” O’Hare said in an email. “And we deliberately built the bar to be separate from the historic altar.”

O’Hare noted that he himself is Catholic and attended Catholic schools through high school in the Washington, D.C. area.

“It was very important to me personally that our design honor and respect the nuns who lived and taught, as well as the girls who studied at the Visitation,” O’Hare wrote. “I believe we accomplished that.”

A lawyer, Koren realizes that the owners of Wye Oak Tavern can “use the space however they see fit.” However, she hopes that they will take note of the petition and contact her for an appointment.

“There’s so much history,” Koren said. “This is a blatant error. Fix it.

“No one is saying get rid of the restaurant,” Leary said. “Move the bar.”

In the first 10 days, business at the hotel and restaurant was “very strong”, Mr O’Hare said.

“Our guests expressed no concerns about the use of the old chapel. In fact, people love hearing the stories that make up the history of the Visitation,” O’Hare said.

Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org

This story was updated at 4:45 p.m. to reflect that the Archdiocese of Baltimore was not involved in the sale of the property.

Copyright © 2025 Catholic Media Review

Print