It’s become a yearly tradition of the St. Albert the Great Catholic Campus Ministry, to build an ice Chapel during the Michigan Tech Winter Carnival. Not only does the Campus Parish build a church every year, but they hold several Masses during Winter Carnival. This year they live streamed the Mass, but the cold temperatures crashed their technology, so the sound was difficult to hear.

A new feature this year was a side aisle, complete with carved arches and stained ice windows. Fr. Ben Haase mentioned in an interview, how special it is to be building a church, something uncommon to be able to do every year. Fr. Ben said he recalls having to pick new flooring when they redid the sanctuary in church and he worried for weeks about choosing the wrong color flooring and everyone hating it for 30 years. But that’s not a worry with the ice Chapel, because if it doesn’t work out, you just do it different the next year. Note the ice on top the altar is a large ice chunk cut from Lake Superior by students. A nice U.P. finishing touch to this Copper Country Chapel.

Susan Schwenk shares photos she snapped of the chapel and during the Mass, along with a short video walk down the side aisle where the stained ice windows are backlit by candles. If you’d like to view the video of the Mass (audio is hard to hear), you can do so here: Our Lady of the Snows Mass

This is amazing! Beautiful and a work of love for all involved. The slab of Lake Superior ice for the altar was the perfect touch. Very impressive!

How incredible. This is stunning.

That is awesome! I didn't know this was done. Very special for sure.