Lorton History: A Cross for Prisoners

Visible from the fence line of the former DC Reformatory at Lorton stands a chapel that boasts an unusual and interesting story about how it came to be built, but possibly even more remarkable is the account of what’s inside.

Prior to 1955, religious services for the nearly two thousand prisoners at the Reformatory were conducted by volunteer clergymen in an auditorium at the facility. In that same year the Department of Corrections established a permanent chaplaincy for the prison and took “under advisement” the construction of a chapel to be part of the prison’s ten-year plan. Two of the new members of the chaplaincy, the Protestant Reverend Kreutzer and the Catholic Father Breitfeller, determined this was not acceptable and mounted their own campaign to reduce the “ten” to “now.” What followed was a three-year struggle to secure funds to construct a chapel.

The search to select an architect led Fr. Breitfeller to consider someone from “within.” Learning that a prisoner named Farmer Thomas had experience in architectural engineering, which he had acquired while serving a sentence in San Quentin, Fr. Breitfeller asked him to sketch an idea for a prison chapel. “Fine, Father Breitfeller,” said Thomas, “but I’ve never seen the inside of a Church.”  After 15 different sets of drawings and blueprints and with input from the chaplaincy, in the spring of 1956 a design had been decided upon and a final plan produced a chapel “so designed that three religious services may be held simultaneously, each with a seating capacity of 400 to 500. With the ease of opening a door, any one service may be expanded to a capacity of over 800, or further, even to well over 1,200.”

With the design in place Rev. Kreutzer and Fr. Breitfeller, working with the Director of the Department of Corrections and the District’s churches, set about to convince the District Commissioners and Congress that a chapel was needed, and further, that it could be built by the inmates themselves. Congress allocated $192,000 for the chapel in the fiscal year 1957-1958 budget. A site was selected, a set of construction drawings by the District firm of Mills, Petticord and Mills based on Thomas’ plans, were completed and construction was begun in August 1958. “Construction—excavating, cement and foundation pouring, bricklaying, the erection of bulky steel girders—all proceeded at a noticeable rate. All of the labor and construction was executed by prisoners at the Reformatory.”  During this time, Pope John XXIII, at the request of Fr. Breitfeller, granted the Apostolic Blessing for all who actively participate in the attainment, construction and furnishing of the Prison Chapel.

On Good Friday, April 15, 1960, a pure white, reinforced concrete cross was erected as the frontal piece for the Chapel. Called simply “The Chapel” it was inter-denominational, however upon entering the foyer the smaller chapel to the left, being the Protestant side, was named “Crossroad”, while the chapel on the right, the Catholic side, was called “Christ the Prisoner.” The first religious service was held in The Chapel on July 1, 1961 when 17 men were baptized into the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Chapel was dominated by a life-sized and life-like crucifix of Christ the prisoner. Documented accounts attribute the work to an inmate sculptor, Williston Knorl, and in inmate painter, Herbert Hall. The head of the figure was sculpted in clay and cast in stone. The body was cast in a unique fashion. Plaster of Paris casts were made of an inmate’s body, selected as a model because he was scheduled to be executed. he molds were then filled with cast stone. The traditional wound in the side of Christ was intentionally omitted, indicating that He is still alive and therefore still a prisoner, and emphasizing the name of the chapel. The cross to which the figure was attached was carved by inmates Knorl and Hall from seasoned logs harvested on the prison grounds.

The original windows of The Chapel were stained by Hall using a special process that made them appear as actual stained glass. Hand-carved Stations of the Cross adorned the walls of Christ the Prisoner chapel.

A sad footnote to this amazing story is that Williston Knorl, who contributed such beauty to The Chapel, subsequently hung himself in his cell.

After the prison closed in 2001 The Chapel sat for several years suffering from benign neglect. Finally, at the urging of the community, Fairfax County had the Crucifix removed and contracted with a conservator to clean and make minor structure repairs in the spring of 2007. It is now in storage and there are no current plans to display it. The Stations of the Cross and other artifacts from The Chapel are in storage at county archives.

The white concrete cross, towering ten feet high still adorns The Chapel front and can be viewed from the Reformatory parking lot through the fence.

Portions of this story were taken from a pamphlet titled “The Chapel” printed by the Reformatory Division in 1961.