Our Lady of the Skies Chapel at John F. Kennedy International Airport is a Catholic chapel located at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
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Description
The chapel was founded in 1955 by World War II veteran Bob O’Brien, who promised the Virgin Mary the creation of a shine if he could safely return home. The original chapel was dismantled in 1966 to make room for a terminal expansion for British Airways. The current chapel was rebuilt at a cost of one million dollars. The current chapel contains a 16-foot statue of the Virgin Mary, a white marble altar and stained windows. It is a popular destination for weddings. The chapel services thousands of people a day.
The chapel is one of the few places of worship in an airport designed for a specific faith. Most other airports in the United States that have chapels or places of worship are interfaith.
Location
Our Lady of the Skies Chapel at John F. Kennedy International Airport is incorporated into the second floor of International Air Terminal 4, near the flight arrivals board.
Brashich v. Port Authority of New York
In 1979, Deyan Brashich, a patron of the JFK International Airport, sued the Port Authority of New York because of the existence of the chapel. He argued that the existence of the chapel violated his First Amendment right to freedom of religion. The United States District Court of New York ultimately ruled in favor of the Port Authority, noting that the chapel only accommodated religious individuals and that it did not threaten Brashich's right to worship freely.
During the case of Hawley v. the City of Cleveland, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals referenced the precedent set by Brashich v. Port Authority of New York when they ruled that a chapel located in a Cleveland airport was not in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.