Students at St. Lawrence University wonder why there is no mass at the Gunnison Memorial Chapel during Easter weekend. Students have become frustrated with the inconvenience of getting to mass when there is a beautiful chapel on campus.
The Associate Chaplain Shaun Whitehead points out that the local Canton Priest turned down the opportunity to continue to hold masses at Gunnison Memorial Chapel after the fire in 2013. “We had a chapel fire and it was family weekend 2013. We were out of the chapel in terms of the gospel service, in terms of the Roman Catholic Mass, all services and ceremonies in the chapel were suspended, even our candle light service was held in other locations,” she says. However, after the renovations, Whitehead says that Father Douglas Lucia decided to keep the Roman Catholic Masses at St. Mary’s Church in Canton.
The St. Lawrence University Chaplain Kathleen Buckley acknowledges that 23.8 percent of students identify as Roman Catholic. “When I came in 2001 the percentage of Roman Catholic students was about 35%, it is significantly lower now,” she says. Although the percentage of students has increased since 2017, the number of students who identify as Roman Catholic has overall decreased within the last ten years.
Father Bryan Stitt of St. Mary’s recognizes that there are two college campuses in Canton. “Instead of catering to only one college campus we try to cater to everyone,” he says. He also thought it was important to point out that “we do have ride opportunities, we have volunteers that offer to give rides.”
Maggie Green ’22, who identifies as Roman Catholic, points out a positive and negative aspect of travelling off campus for her weekend mass. “Sometimes it is a little hard tracking down a car to drive downtown to St. Mary’s. However, I do feel more involved in the greater Canton community because I am forced to go off campus for a catholic mass,” she says.
Many students that are unaware of these resources that the volunteers offer, have emphasized that finding a way into town is difficult. Jaime Allen ’22, who does not practice a religion, points out that not having a Catholic Mass at the chapel on campus does not affect her. “However, I feel there should have been a Catholic Mass available on Easter for the students who attend [church] that don’t have a way to get to church in town,” she says.