When Pope Francis visits Washington, D.C. in September, he will sit on a very specific chair at an outdoor Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The School of Architecture and Planning at the Catholic University of America held a student competition to design a chair, altar table, and pulpit for the Holy Father. The winning design was submitted by graduating undergraduate seniors Ariadne Cerritelli, Matthew Hoffman, and Joseph Taylor, who as a group received $6,000 as an award. ARCHITECT reported that this isn't the first time that students at the Catholic University of America have designed for a visiting pope. In 2008, students at the university designed the altar, papal chair, pulpit , and lectern for for Pope Benedict XVI when he visited a Mass at Nationals Park. The new design for this new pope is rather simple, both in form and material. The chair is made of wood and marble and is meant to match the style of the Basilica's Romanesque-Byzantine construction with its high arches. After the ceremony this upcoming September, the furniture will remain permanently installed on the site, according to ARCHITECT. To fabricate the furniture, the university is working with the Basilica and the Archdiocese of Washington.

· Catholic University Architecture Students Design a Chair for the Pope [ARCHITECT]

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