St. Thomas University (STU) in Fredericton, N.B. is planning to relocate its campus chapel and replace the space it occupied with a common gathering area, in an attempt to increase communal space for students on campus, following a unanimous vote by the STU board of governors.
The chapel currently resides in George Martin Hall, one of the largest spaces on campus. Though it seats 350 people, the worship community on a weekly basis is around 70. It is the largest Catholic university chapel in the country.
This summer, it will be moved to Holy Cross House, a second smaller chapel located on the edge of the property, which can hold about 50 worshipers.
“We will then begin to renovate the original chapel to create a more elaborate, more functional common space for the entire community,” Jeffrey Carleton, the university’s communications director said. “It could be used for socializing, meetings, concerts, academic activities, and faith events.”
STU is a small school with 2,000 students, 75 per cent of whom live off-campus.
By refurbishing the chapel into a common area, the administration hopes to give commuter students a reason to stay at the school outside of classroom hours, Carleton said.
“We want to create more communal space on our small campus,” Carleton said.
The school has also recently adopted an all-you-can-eat dining concept for its cafeteria. Only those buying a full meal will be allowed in the dining hall, which is located in the same building as the chapel.
It will no longer be accessible for students looking to socialize in their free time, if not eating.
Not everyone is happy with the chapel’s transformation, as the STU administration has received about 25 emails, phone calls, or letters of complaint about the move, Carleton said.
Gillian Thompson, a professor of history at the University of New Brunswick and member of the STU chapel congregation for 42 years, is a member of a group of other long-time members who are not happy with the proposed changes.
They are in favour of a shared-space concept, envisioning a new student commons that includes a small, multi-faith chapel with movable furnishings, where mass could be held on Sundays. This idea was rejected by STU administration, Thompson said.
“Given that this is a Catholic university and mass has always been celebrated in that location, and it has been a chapel since its construction nearly fifty years ago, it seems odd that it is not possible for a part of the space to continue to be used for worship,” Thompson said.
The new chapel will be about a four-minute walk from its original location, according to Thompson. She said location is the whole point.
“The builders of STU appropriately chose to place the chapel at the heart and centre of the university,” Thompson said.
She said many students are accustomed to dropping into the chapel casually at their own convenience.
Carleton said the university hopes to complete the move by the time students return to school in September.
