The chapel, on the first floor of the convent, was built in 1915 for the sisters of St. Joseph. The chapel was used for the students and nuns that lived there for prayer and Mass throughout all the years it has been here.
The chapel is still in use for modern-day Mass, as it was many years ago; Adoration and Friday morning Mass are a few of the events that go on. The football team also uses it for pregame Mass and prayer. He also says why he goes into the chapel. “I was just there for Eucharistic adoration; I’d say in a more typical year I would be there for Friday morning Mass”.
Mr. Jeff Hutchinson-Smyth, Theology teacher, said “I like the redesign where they put the altar in the middle for people to be closer to the altar.”
As Hutchinson-Smyth states, “I think as a gathering space for prayer. Sometimes for classes and Mass for organizations, it’s also good for quiet space for when you’re in need of a little peace in the midst of madness”.
As for the future of the chapel, Hutchinson-Smyth states, “I like that history of the chapel for use, but I think at some point for our school it might be more valuable to construct a new chapel that has a little more flexible to it”.
As McNicholas does not have a church of their own, the school must use Gaurdian Angels church across the street for traditional all-school Mass. A bigger chapel may solve the problem of using the middle school’s church. Hutchinson-Smyth also states, “as you can see that room is so long and rectangular, but I love having a chapel on campus that could have more people”.
The McNicholas Milestone 