About Bunting Interfaith Chapel, Johns Hopkins Hospital · Baltimore, Maryland
The Bunting Interfaith Chapel is a sacred space on the main level of the Sheikh Zayed Tower at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in East Baltimore, open 24 hours a day for people of all faiths to pray and find quiet reflection. Although it is interfaith, Catholic Mass is celebrated there four days a week and the hospital maintains a dedicated Catholic priest chaplain on staff. The chapel is part of the hospital's Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy Department, whose Board Certified chaplains provide around-the-clock pastoral care to patients, families, and staff regardless of religious tradition. The chapel is named for the Bunting family, whose fortune from the Baltimore-founded Noxzema Chemical Company supports cancer research and other programs across the Johns Hopkins enterprise.
- Rector
- Rev. Ignatius Okoye, OFM, Cap.
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Baltimore
Why belong here
The Bunting Interfaith Chapel is the closest Catholic worship site to countless patients, families, and employees of Johns Hopkins Hospital, offering weekday and Sunday noon Mass in the very heart of the medical campus. A Catholic priest chaplain is always on call for the sacraments — including communion, confession, baptism, and anointing of the sick — so that anyone hospitalized at Hopkins can receive pastoral care without delay. The chapel is open 24/7 to anyone who needs a quiet place to pray, grieve, or simply sit in the presence of God, making it a true refuge in the midst of a busy urban hospital.
Mass times at Bunting Interfaith Chapel, Johns Hopkins Hospital
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Available on request through the Catholic chaplain (call 410-614-4155) or by asking any nurse to contact Spiritual Care & Chaplaincy.
The Chapel and Its Setting
The Bunting Interfaith Chapel sits on the main arcade level of the Sheikh Zayed Tower at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, with its public entrance off the Bloomberg Building. It functions as the central sacred space of the hospital, open 24 hours a day to patients, families, visitors, and staff of every (or no) faith background. Catholic Mass and several other weekly worship services are celebrated within its walls.
- Location: Main Level, Sheikh Zayed Tower (entrance in Bloomberg Building)
- Address: 1800 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21287
- Open 24 hours a day, every day
- Named for the Bunting family of Baltimore (Noxzema Chemical Company)
Catholic Mass
Catholic Mass is celebrated in the chapel four days a week, giving patients and employees a regular liturgical anchor in the middle of the hospital day. The Mass is in English and is served by the hospital's dedicated Catholic priest chaplain.
- Sunday 12:00 PM
- Monday 12:00 PM
- Tuesday 12:00 PM
- Wednesday 12:00 PM
Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy Department
The chapel is the spiritual hub of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy Department, whose staff chaplains are Board Certified through the Association for Professional Chaplains. A chaplain is on the hospital campus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is available for both urgent and routine pastoral needs. Faith-specific chaplains serve the Catholic, Jewish, and Episcopal communities directly, and the team can reach out to the broader Baltimore faith community for any tradition not covered on staff.
- Office: Halsted 144
- Office phone: 410-955-5842 (Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
- 24/7 urgent chaplain line via hospital operator: 410-955-4331
- All staff chaplains Board Certified through the Association for Professional Chaplains
- Per-diem chaplains complete a minimum of four units of Clinical Pastoral Education
Catholic Priest Chaplain
The hospital's Catholic priest chaplain is Rev. Ignatius Okoye, OFM, Cap., a Capuchin Franciscan friar on mission from the Province of Saint Augustine in Pittsburgh. Before coming to the United States in 2021, he served as an associate pastor and youth chaplain for five years in Nigeria. He completed Level 1 Clinical Pastoral Education at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2022 in preparation for full-time hospital ministry.
- Rev. Ignatius Okoye, OFM, Cap. — Catholic Priest Chaplain
- Phone: 410-614-4155
- Email: [email protected]
- Religious order: Capuchin Franciscan, Province of Saint Augustine, Pittsburgh PA
- Education: BA Philosophy & Theology (Dominican Institute / Bigard Memorial Seminary, Nigeria); Level 1 CPE, Johns Hopkins Hospital 2022
Other Weekly Worship Services
Beyond Catholic Mass, the chapel hosts regular services for the hospital's Muslim and Jewish communities, with Jewish prayer held in a dedicated hospitality suite nearby.
- Muslim Jumu'ah: Friday 12:30–1:00 PM and 1:30–2:00 PM in the Bunting Family Interfaith Chapel
- Jewish Minyan: Monday–Thursday 1:10 PM in the Jewish Hospitality Suite, Blalock 175 (open at all times for quiet space and kosher snacks; supported by Bikur Cholim volunteers)
- Prayer Time with Chaplain: Sunday 10:00 AM in the Bunting Family Interfaith Chapel
- Mindful Pause: Tuesdays 1:00–1:30 PM in the Bunting Family Interfaith Chapel
Sacraments and Pastoral Care at the Bedside
The chaplaincy team brings the sacraments and pastoral care directly to patients throughout the hospital, not only to those able to walk to the chapel. Catholics who are too ill to attend Mass can receive communion, confession, anointing of the sick, and baptism (including emergency baptism) at the bedside through the Catholic priest chaplain.
- Prayer and sensitive listening
- Baptism (including emergency baptism)
- Holy Communion (bedside visits)
- Confession / Reconciliation
- Anointing of the Sick
- Blessing and reading of Scripture
- End-of-life discussions and support
- Grief, loss, and stress support
- Provision of sacred literature and devotional items
- Assistance with religious and dietary observances
Other Sacred Spaces on the Hopkins Campus
Patients, families, and staff who need a quiet place to pray or reflect have several options scattered across the hospital campus, each open at all times. The Christ Statue known as 'The Divine Healer' in the Billings Administration Building lobby is a particular landmark for Catholic visitors.
- Bunting Interfaith Chapel — Main Level Zayed Building
- Weinberg Meditation Room — 1st Floor Weinberg Lobby
- Viragh Meditation Room — Viragh Building, Main Level
- Jewish Hospitality Suite — Blalock 175 (kosher food and religious books)
- Christ Statue (Divine Healer) — Billings Administration Building Lobby
- Reflection Koi Pond — outdoors, between Peterson Courtyard and Phipps Building
Contacting a Chaplain
Anyone in the hospital community can request a chaplain visit directly, by phone, by text, or simply by asking a nurse. The team strives to be reachable for both urgent and routine requests around the clock.
- Spiritual Care & Chaplaincy Office: 410-955-5842 (Mon–Fri, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.)
- Urgent after-hours line: 410-955-4331 (hospital operator → chaplain on-call)
- Text a chaplain: 410-434-0909
- In-house: ask your nurse to contact a chaplain for you
- Catholic Priest Chaplain Rev. Ignatius Okoye: 410-614-4155 — [email protected]
The Bunting Family Legacy at Johns Hopkins
The chapel takes its name from the Bunting family, whose 'Dr. Bunting's Sunburn Remedy' became the famous Noxzema brand, founded in Baltimore and manufactured locally until the 1920s when the Noxzema Chemical Company opened its first factory. By the 1940s the cream was a national household product, and the family parlayed that success into the Noxell Corporation, which launched CoverGirl and other lines before being sold to Procter & Gamble in 1989. Generations of Bunting philanthropy have shaped Johns Hopkins, leaving a constellation of named facilities that includes the Bunting Interfaith Chapel, the Bunting-Blaustein Cancer Research Building, the Bunting Neighborhood Leadership Program, and an endowed Bunting professorship.
- George Bunting — founder of Noxzema Chemical Company
- Bunting-Blaustein Cancer Research Building
- Bunting Neighborhood Leadership Program
- Endowed Bunting professorship