The “St. Olaf Chapel” on Notre Dame’s North Quad morphed from igloo to ice chapel under the initiative of seniors Wesley Buonerba and Martin Soros, and the world took note. There's no shortage of stunning photos of the beautiful candlelit ice-glass chapel windows and videos of the crowd of bundled-up students singing and praying.
The real headline, however, is not these viral snapshots but the inspiration and impact on the lives of the students — long after the snow and ice of St. Olaf’s have melted, the seeds planted during this winter feast will continue bearing fruit.
As grace builds on nature, what started out as a fun way to take advantage of this winter’s snow and cold became a conviction for organizers Wesley and Martin. Familiar with Michigan Tech’s annual ice chapel and Mass they wanted to have something similar -- but they also saw a broader opportunity for evangelization.
In an interview with Aleteia, Wesley shared it was providential that the Feast of the Presentation, or Candlemas, was on a Monday. They didn’t want to compete with the Sunday dorm Masses, an important aspect of community life on campus; but it also was a chance “to bring people together on a normal weeknight … and reach a wider audience than usually goes to Mass.”
Anna Kim, a freshman from Montana, had seen Liam Devine’s igloo on the North Quad and noticed when a couple of arches were added. Thinking it looked “super cool,” Anna told Aleteia that she pushed past feeling intimidated by all the guys and offered to help. One night turned into four, and at Monday night’s Mass, bundled in two jackets, she was kept warm by her nerves proclaiming the Scripture readings before such a large crowd.
She emphasized, “I don’t think anyone expected it turn into a campus-wide, 2,000-people, making-it-on-the-news kind of event…
“But it was really cool, because literally, everyone was talking about it, in class and around campus. People were asking their friends if they were going … and despite the cold, people went.”
Wesley commented they were well aware that the novelty of Mass in an ice chapel would “attract and draw a larger audience than normal.” That’s what led them to appeal to Fr. Pete McCormick, “because he’s very charismatic and popular among the student body … among all students, not just those that are more faithfully practicing Catholics.”
“It was really just a chance to give everyone an encounter with the Mass that was much more beautiful than either of us could have imagined,” he reflected.
Martin added that they chose the name St. Olaf’s also “trying to reach out to the population of students that maybe doesn’t go to Mass as often … We thought that St. Olaf would give people a little chuckle” and be a good conversation starter. He said that a lot of people were surprised to hear St. Olaf is an actual saint.
God's own creation
Catholicism has always been a central aspect of life for Wesley, who comes from a big Catholic family in the Ann Arbor, Michigan, area; something that his parents have wanted to pass on to their children, to value and share. Attending Catholic high school helped him to really make the faith his own.
“That was something that was a big step in my own life,” he told Aleteia. “Ultimately it was what led me to Notre Dame.” His experience is that Notre Dame’s student body, the populace and professors “are a remarkable community of faith-filled individuals."
“Like an encapsulation of the Church as a whole,” he described. “It helps show the universality of the Church … There’s not only one good way to live out your Catholic identity.”
For his part, Martin was raised in Maryland by a Catholic dad and agnostic mom, and always attended public school. He chose Notre Dame because he wanted a Catholic community experience. While public school and dealing with personal health issues prompted his desire to learn and grow in faith, he appreciates being exposed to all types of peoples, and said that itself has helped him grow in his own faith journey.
“Having a mom who doesn’t share my faith has helped me learn to co-exist with others with love and respect,” Martin said.
Both young men shared that there was real pushback on campus for the idea of Mass at the snow chapel -- not from the administration, which has permission from the diocese for outdoor Masses and informed Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the late-night Candlemas liturgy, but from students concerned about maintaining the appropriate atmosphere and reverence for Mass, seemingly unsure an outdoor Mass was licit or could be rightly reverent.
Second-year Holy Cross seminarian Liam Sclosser, from Milwaukee, noted that Notre Dame’s reputation in national news isn’t always positive.
“I was so thrilled for something to show the big picture of Notre Dame … The incredible Catholic communities that are here — those are what made me fall in love with Christ even more after I got here,” he said.
Fellow seminarian Joseph Carlson, a freshman from Traverse City, Michigan, commented on the beauty integrated into the chapel structure. He said it was all very intentional, inspired by the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on campus. Joseph noted that multiple hours were spent on creating the details of the ice crucifix alone.
The seminarians shared thoughts on the significance of the chapel being built with natural elements. “God’s own creation that was formed into the chapel,” Liam said. “The snow and ice, the voices of the people gathered.”
The silence and respect during the Mass, especially for such a crowd, huddled together in the cold, astounded Wesley and Martin. The prayerfulness throughout the liturgy -- kneeling at the consecration and the patient waiting, shuffling feet on the frozen ground during the half hour for communion.
“But people stayed,” Wesley added, even when there weren’t enough consecrated hosts for everyone assembled, “And I think they were moved.”
Once the idea of the Mass was set in motion, Wesley and Martin sought Fr. Pete’s guidance. He encouraged keeping the Mass a “student-led affair” using the resources readily available. The pair felt reassured that “the Lord will fill in,” and the results were, in their words, “remarkable.”
Enough
“So many things fell into place,” Wesley commented, “the fruits of our community here in Notre Dame and unique opportunities that we have as a campus … especially the student body and our ability to come together.”
He added that their end goal was “to evangelize and bring the campus together in a way that inspired students, brought them joy, caught them on their way to class and the dining hall and gave them something to smile about.”
As Anna experienced, “It was a chance to focus on what’s really important and what’s central to the university, which is community and coming together to worship God.” She acknowledged that all the students involved in building the ice chapel are behind on their homework, “but it was genuinely the best experience I’ve had in the last six months.”
Wesley concluded by sharing what made the whole experience personally worth it. One of the guys in his dorm who has never been to Mass at Notre Dame decided that Monday would be his very first Mass.
“And that’s just the start,” he asserted. “The fact that this interesting and unique event was able to garner enough attention and excitement to bring someone — who’s been here for two years, to a campus where we’ve got 163 Masses a week — to their first Mass… Wow!”
“It was just enough to start something,” he continued, “hopefully; and that’s all that we were hoping for and praying for — maybe it gives that one person an encounter.”
