NEWS RELEASE
ST. ALBERT THE GREAT UNIVERSITY PARISH
*************************
Building a chapel out of ice and snow originally came to the attention of St. Albert the Great University Parish at the suggestion of a parent. Seeing this to be a "fun idea" during Michigan Tech’s famed Winter Carnival, a small group of students at St. Al’s decided to give it a go back in 2016 alongside their pastor Rev. Ben Hasse. They were quickly surprised by how the word spread and how excited people, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, were to come to such an event leading to international coverage in 2021. Ten years later, building the Our Lady of the Snows Ice Chapel is a well-known annual tradition for the students, locals, and people from all over the world.
The ice chapel is built each year by college students and community members in the Keweenaw peninsula town of Houghton, Michigan. Over the course of a month, people can be found outside shoveling, bucketing, stomping, and carving from a mountain of snow. Through their efforts, and plywood forms held together by 2x4s, the ice chapel is brought to life. More and more students get involved each year, and they bring with them their creativity to further add to the beauty of the chapel. Examples include stained ice panes, a raised pulpit, a Marian grotto, and carved side aisles. Another unique feature is the acquisition of an ice slab pulled up by hand from a nearby bay to use as the chapel’s altar.
The priests at St. Al’s celebrated three planned Ice Masses in the Our Lady of the Snows Ice Chapel: 5:30 p.m., 10 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 7. Another is planned for 10 a.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 8.
The experience of building this unique structure brings about and strengthens friendships. When asked how much it costs to build an Ice Chapel, Fr. Hasse simply responds “about a thousand dollars’ worth of pizza,” which fuels the volunteers. St. Al’s parish is overjoyed to bring to life a creation that glorifies God and brings the community together through the Mass.
To learn more about the Ice Mass or St. Albert the Great University Parish, visit mtucatholic.org/icemass. To learn more about Michigan Tech’s Winter Carnival, visit mtu.edu/carnival/2025.
*************************
