Freshmen Justin Sena has visited 30 chapels all over campus in the past month as a part of Howard Hall's Chapel Crawl.
"This event is a testament to the Catholic identity of the university that there exists a group of students who take time out of there day for a celebration of the Eucharist and fellowship," Sena said. "I enjoyed experiencing the fellowship of the other ‘Chapel Crawlers' as we journeyed on our pilgrimage together."
Sena said that the chapel crawl was a great way to spend time reflecting on the penitential season of Lent and spend less time on unproductive activities, like Facebook.
Former Howard Hall President MaryEllen Keneally wanted to create an event that reached out to the campus at large.
"We wanted to have an event that would involve the whole campus," Keneally said.
The organizers in Howard thought a chapel crawl would encourage daily Mass attendance and be a fun opportunity for students to pray together.
"The name helped make it fun," Keneally said. "It also helped to attract a different crowd to go to daily Mass."
Keneally said she and the other organizers talked to dorm presidents and consulted the Campus Ministry Mass schedule to plan the month-long event. Rosary at the Grotto and mass at the Log Chapel were included in the schedule along with a Spanish mass at St. Edward's Hall and a Taize prayer service in Walsh Hall.
"We wanted to go when dorms were having their fun Masses. We went to Dillon for their ‘Milkshake Mass' and Sorin for the ‘Chili Mass,'" she said.
The Chapel Crawl gave students a glimpse inside the various chapels scattered across Notre Dame's campus. Keneally said she loved seeing the different chapels on campus and experiencing the unique beauty in each spot.
"Its really interesting to see how different they all are. Even chapels that were built around the same time are different," Keneally said.
Howard Hall hosted the first Mass in the 30-day chapel crawl.
Keneally said seeing her hall's chapel filled with so many people was a special moment.
"We had no idea how it would go, but it was lots of fun and about 75 people showed up," she said.
To add to the chapel crawl, students were given a card to count their attendance throughout the month, Keneally said. Students receive a stamp on their card for every Mass they attended. Anyone with more than 12 stamps can enter a raffle after the last Mass.
"The Mass card was our rector's idea," Keneally said. "We really wanted a lot of attendance and this was a way to get people to come. Plus it's a fun souvenir."
The final Mass will be held tonight at 10 p.m. in the Log Chapel. After Mass, Howard Hall will serve root beer floats in the Coleman Morse Center.
"The last Mass is an opportunity to see a pretty cool place," Keneally said.
While this was the first year for the event, Keneally hopes it will not be the last.
"I was a really easy event to put on, it was fun and it's a good thing to do during Lent," She said. "Hopefully it will become a regular event."
