Chapel of the Little Portion
Located on the lake behind the New Harmony Inn, the Chapel of the Little Portion was designed by Stephen de Staebler and constructed with stucco and wood in 1989 by the New Harmony Inn and the brothers of Mount Saint Francis. Reverend David Lenz, Franciscan friar from Louisville, Kentucky, explains why the chapel was symbolic for the Franciscans to build. “One day St. Francis of Assisi was praying in the crumbling ruins of the little church of San Damiano and he heard the words ‘Francis, go and repair my church which is falling down. Thinking that he was being directed to rebuild the physical structure of that church, he did so, and went on to rebuild and repair others. One little church he rebuilt was called Portiuncula or little portion. It remained a favorite of his.โ” The polished steel cross on the Chapel of the Little Portion in New Harmony was created by Allen Ditson of Arizona for the exterior south wall.