Aquinas Institute Mass in Princeton University Chapel

Here are some photographs of the Mass held each Sunday for Princeton University students (and attended by many local families) during the academic year. These were taken right before Christmas, but I have only just seen them and thought they might interest you. The Mass is celebrated by Fr. Zack Swantek of the Aquinas Institute, the university’s student chaplaincy; the choir is directed by Peter Carter of the Catholic Sacred Music Project, who will be well known to many of our readers

The chapel was built in the Gothic style and completed in the 1920s. It was not intended to house the Mass - Princeton has a strong Presbyterian history. However, it is interesting to note that even Protestants in the early 20th century were able to create imagery evoking the Eucharist that surpasses what many Catholic churches today can offer. On sunny days, when the imagery in the stained glass is visible, we can make out an image of the Last Supper, then, working upwards, the Risen Christ, and, above that, the Crucifixion.

In the window at the other end of the chapel, there is an image of Christ in Majesty, which portrays the Risen Christ to the faithful who have participated in the Eucharist, and by partaking of the divine nature, have “put on Christ.”