Flickering candles lit up the scene as a large student crowd braved the cold on a February night to join in an outdoor Mass around an elaborate student-built ice chapel.
The temporary church on North Quad near Zahm Hall is made entirely of snow and ice, with a tall ice spire and roof pinnacles topped with ice crosses. Inside, there’s a crucifix of ice. Votive candles lit the walkway to the chapel, its roof and the area around its base for the service. Many worshippers also held candles.
The Mass, which included a choir, was celebrated the night of February 2, with Father Greg Haake, CSC, ’99, ’06M.Div., presiding and Father Pete McCormick, CSC, ’06M.Div., ’15MBA giving the homily. Altar servers carried an icicle cross and candles amid a large circle of worshippers standing and kneeling in the snow.
“We look at a world that can all too often feel as if it is full of bad news. It is full of despair. It is full of heartache,” McCormick said. “Jesus calls us to live our lives like his — with open hearts, with a love for one another, a love that knows no limit, a love that willingly sacrifices, and a love that calls others into Communion.”
After the homily, those in attendance sang the alma mater, “Notre Dame, Our Mother,” joining arms and swaying to the song. The Mass drew such a large crowd that the supply of Communion hosts ran out.
At the conclusion of the service, Haake thanked the student builders for their creativity that provided such a beautiful setting. He apologized to those who weren’t able to receive Communion. He said they had prepared about 1,600 Communion hosts and ran out because the size of the crowd had exceeded their expectations. “We were thinking hundreds [of attendees]. We had thousands,” he said.
The ephemeral structure is named St. Olaf Ice Chapel, in honor of the Viking warrior saint who served as king of Norway and converted that nation to Christianity. The Mass was celebrated at an ice altar that stands just outside the chapel entrance.
Besieged by snow and cold this winter, some Notre Dame undergraduates have responded by embracing the season and channeling their creativity into snow construction.
The outdoor Mass came about after seniors Martin Soros and Wesley Buonerba recruited volunteers and over last weekend built the ice chapel. They were inspired by another student, sophomore Liam Devine, who earlier completed a large igloo nearby.
The three young men and many of the other construction volunteers are residents of the Coyle Community in Zahm Hall. Mostly former residents of Fisher Hall (demolished in 2024), they are living in Zahm this academic year, until the new Coyle Hall opens in August.
Devine, a sophomore biology major from Tampa, Florida, started building the igloo several weeks ago. Friends and dorm mates helped. They froze water in recycling bins to create heavy ice blocks for the walls and roof, then sealed the blocks with snow and cold water.
“Dealing with the winter cold is a lot better when you’re building an igloo,” said Devine, who suffered some frostbite during the work. The snow house includes a skylight, a central pillar to support the roof and a frill of icicles above the doorway. Once the igloo was complete, Devine and his workmates added a power setup and strings of mini-lights, and are now able to relax and play video games inside.
Inspired by Devine’s project, Soros and Buonerba developed plans for the ice chapel. “Wesley and I were talking about (an ice project) for a while. We decided to just get started,” Soros said.
Their efforts also attracted volunteers. Soros is a civil engineering major from Maryland, Buonerba is an architecture major from Michigan and both are resident assistants. They contacted Campus Ministry and helped with planning for the Mass.
What were the biggest construction challenges? “The cold and lack of sleep,” Soros said.
The young men say the ice building projects have helped forge new friendships within their residence hall. And students and employees from across campus have stopped by to watch the work, take photos and thank them for spreading joy. “It all started out as a fun little Friday night project with friends,” Devine says. “It’s made an already close dorm community even closer.”
For students accustomed to the mild Midwestern winters of recent years, this one has been an eye-opener. South Bend has received more than 75 inches of snow since the first flakes fell in November.
After the nighttime Mass, there were hot chocolate stations across the quad, offering a welcoming warmup for worshippers as they made their way home across the snowy campus.
Margaret Fosmoe is an associate editor of this magazine.