St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

For a hundred years, the St. Joseph Memorial Chapel has served the Holy Cross community as the home for countless Masses, sacraments, weddings, concerts, lectures, Chapel Artist Series, Family Weekends, First Year and Senior Convocations, tours, College events - including over four decades of the beloved Lessons and Carols. 

A Brief History 

After World War I, a desire grew on campus for a memorial chapel dedicated to those lost in the war, and later, in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. During the First World War, 25 Holy Cross men died in action and 23 were wounded; in all, 960 students and alumni and seven professors had served, a significant percentage of a small college. The names of the fallen are enshrined on plaques on the back wall of the Chapel. 

The Chapel was designed by the Boston architectural firm Maginnis and Walsh, who also designed Alumni Hall in 1904 and would go on to build Dinand Library. Construction began in the fall of 1922, and the Chapel celebrated its official opening on May 7, 1924. 

Over the years, the Chapel we experience today has remained relatively unchanged from 1924, with the notable exceptions including the organ replacement in 1985 and the renovations to the Mary Chapel and McCooey Chapel on the lower level. 

Light and History - The Stained Glass of St. Joseph Memorial Chapel at Holy Cross 

The focal point of the Chapel is a magnificent set of 14 stained glass windows. Learn more about the Chapel’s architecture and stained glass through the work of Virginia Chieffo Raguin, professor of Visual Arts.