About Holy Spirit Chapel, at Duquesne University · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
The Chapel of the Holy Spirit is the campus chapel of Duquesne University, a private Catholic research university on the Bluff overlooking downtown Pittsburgh. It is located within (and adjoins) Old Main, the University's iconic five-story red-brick Administration Building, and serves as the spiritual heart of a Spiritan-sponsored community of roughly 8,200 students. Daily Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary, the Chapel Choir, and a full program of liturgical ministries are offered from this chapel. The chapel is also available for weddings of Duquesne students, alumni, and employees, and it works hand-in-hand with the University's Lourdes Grotto, a prayer garden on campus since 1956.
- Established
- 1904
- Patron
- The Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) — reflecting Duquesne's identity as Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit, founded by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans / C.S.Sp.)
- Rector
- Fr. William (Bill) Christy, C.S.Sp. — University Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh (Duquesne University is a Spiritan-sponsored Catholic university within the Diocese of Pittsburgh)
Why belong here
The Chapel of the Holy Spirit is a daily-Mass Catholic chapel at the heart of a Spiritan university community, where students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors can worship together in a historic setting. It offers weekday and Sunday Masses, weekly Reconciliation, Friday Exposition and Benediction, a Monday Rosary Circle, a Thursday-evening Chapel Choir that leads the 11 a.m. Sunday liturgy, and a wide range of liturgical ministries (lector, acolyte, extraordinary minister of Communion, cantor, instrumentalist, hospitality) open to students, faculty, and staff. It is also a place of quiet prayer — the chapel is open all hours — and it sits beside the University's Lourdes Grotto, a prayer garden since 1956, making the whole Old Main area a true campus sanctuary.
Mass times at Holy Spirit Chapel, at Duquesne University
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Weekdays at 11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit when classes are in session
- By appointment when students are away on break — email Kirsten Iaquinta to schedule
Adoration times
- "Holy Half Hour" with Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament: Fridays following the Noon Mass (12:30 p.m.), when classes are in session (not held during the season of Lent)
Other Devotions
Beyond Mass and Reconciliation, the Chapel of the Holy Spirit is the gathering point for a number of regular Catholic devotions on campus. The Rosary Circle meets on Mondays at 6:00 p.m. in the chapel — and at the Lourdes Grotto behind Old Main when the weather allows. On Fridays of the Lenten season, the Stations of the Cross are prayed in the chapel following the Noon Mass. Larger university liturgies, such as the annual Mass of the Holy Spirit (held at Cooper Field House) and the Homecoming Mass (held in the Crucifix Garden), are celebrated with the full campus community, supported by the Chapel Choir.
- Rosary Circle — Mondays at 6:00 p.m. in the chapel (Lourdes Grotto in good weather)
- Stations of the Cross — Fridays of Lent, in the chapel following Noon Mass
- Mass of the Holy Spirit — annual university liturgy at Cooper Field House
- Homecoming Mass — celebrated in the Crucifix Garden
Liturgical Ministries
Spiritan Campus Ministry invites students, faculty, staff, and administrators to take part in the special ministries of the chapel's liturgies. Yearly training is provided for every liturgical role, and no previous experience is required — only a willingness to serve. If you would like to be involved, email Debbie Kostosky.
- Cantor — leads the assembly in sung prayer; recruited from the Chapel Choir
- Psalmist — sings the psalm at liturgy from the ambo
- Proclaimer of the Word (Lector) — proclaims the scripture readings
- Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion — distributes the Body and Blood of Christ in the absence of the ordinary ministers; must be formally commissioned
- Minister of Hospitality — greets, seats, takes up the collection, hands out bulletins
- Acolyte — assists the priest at the altar and prepares the sanctuary
- Instrumentalists — accompany the Chapel Choir, the Mass of the Holy Spirit, and weddings
Music Ministry — Chapel Choir & Weddings
Music for the chapel's liturgies is led by Dr. Michael P. Mackey, Director of Music and Liturgy. The Chapel Choir is open to all (no audition required — only the ability to read music and a love of praising God through song); it rehearses on Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and leads the music at the Sunday 11:00 a.m. Mass during the academic year. The choir also sings for the Mass of the Holy Spirit at the Cooper Field House and the Homecoming Mass in the Crucifix Garden. Instrumentalists from the Mary Pappert School of Music and the wider community are regularly invited to accompany the choir and to perform at weddings. For wedding music specifically, all arrangements must be made in consultation with Dr. Mackey at least one month in advance.
- Director of Music and Liturgy: Dr. Michael P. Mackey ([email protected], 412-396-6019)
- Chapel Choir rehearsal: Thursdays, 6:00 p.m., in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit
- Chapel Choir leads Sunday 11:00 a.m. Mass and major university liturgies
- Instrumentalists welcome — solo or collaborative, for Masses and weddings
- Contact for wedding music at least one month in advance
Weddings at the Chapel
The Chapel of the Holy Spirit hosts weddings for members of the Duquesne community, on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., or 3:00 p.m. Couples may access the chapel 30 minutes before the ceremony, and the entire ceremony (including photographs) is limited to 90 minutes from the scheduled start time — for this reason, no receiving line is held. The suggested donation for the chapel is $200; this does not cover the cost of musicians. Couples must provide their own Roman-rite priest or deacon — a Spiritan here at Duquesne, the parish priest, a family friend, or an ordained family member is welcome to preside.
- Available times: Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., or 3:00 p.m.
- Chapel access: 30 minutes before the ceremony
- Time limit: 90 minutes total, including photographs; no receiving line
- Suggested chapel donation: $200 (does not cover musicians)
- Requirement: bride or groom must be a current student, alum, or employee AND Roman Catholic
- If either party was previously married, paperwork must be in place before scheduling
- Couple must provide a Roman-rite priest or deacon
- Music arrangements: consult Dr. Michael P. Mackey at least one month in advance
- To book: email Debbie Kostosky
The Lourdes Grotto
Tucked behind the Administration Building is the University's Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, a sacred outdoor space for private prayer and contemplation that has been part of the Duquesne campus since 1956. Modeled on the original Lourdes Grotto in France — the site where Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette — the Grotto is cherished as a place where prayers and pilgrimages are believed to bring real blessings. When weather permits, the Monday-evening Rosary Circle meets at the Grotto rather than in the chapel.
- Location: behind the Administration Building (Old Main)
- Established on the Duquesne campus in 1956
- Modeled on the Lourdes Grotto in France
- Open to students, faculty, staff, and visitors for private prayer
- Site of the Rosary Circle on Mondays in good weather
History of the Chapel & Old Main
The Chapel of the Holy Spirit has its roots in the founding of Duquesne University itself. On October 1, 1878, Rev. Joseph Strub, C.S.Sp., and the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) opened Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost with 40 students and six faculty — the first Catholic college in Pittsburgh. In 1885, the University completed Old Main on its present Bluff site; built largely by hand, with the Spiritan brothers making the original red bricks from clay dug on the spot, Old Main was for years the highest point on the Pittsburgh skyline. The chapel space within Old Main was not completed until 1904, and that space is the direct ancestor of today's Chapel of the Holy Spirit. In 1911, the college was rechartered as Duquesne University of the Holy Ghost, taking its public name from Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville, Marquis du Quesne, the 18th-century French governor who first brought Catholic worship to the Pittsburgh area. Old Main survived a planned demolition and a lightning-strike fire, and remains — with the chapel — the spiritual and administrative heart of the University.
- 1878 — Duquesne founded as Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost by Rev. Joseph Strub, C.S.Sp.
- 1885 — Old Main completed; first building on the present Duquesne campus
- 1904 — Chapel space within Old Main completed (ancestor of today's Chapel of the Holy Spirit)
- 1911 — Re-chartered as Duquesne University of the Holy Ghost, the first Catholic university in Pennsylvania
- Old Main has survived a planned demolition and a lightning-strike fire
- The chapel is the spiritual center of a Spiritan-sponsored Catholic university community of ~8,200 students
Spiritan Campus Ministry Team & Contact
The Chapel of the Holy Spirit is pastored and staffed through Spiritan Campus Ministry, which oversees worship, the Sacraments, liturgical and musical ministries, weddings, and pastoral care for the Duquesne community. The University Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry is Fr. William (Bill) Christy, C.S.Sp., a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit that founded the University.
- Fr. William (Bill) Christy, C.S.Sp. — University Chaplain, Director of Campus Ministry (412-396-6020; [email protected]; 102 Administration Building)
- Dr. Michael P. Mackey — Director of Music and Liturgy (412-396-6019; [email protected]) — also coordinates wedding music
- Kirsten Iaquinta, M.S. — Campus Minister (Reconciliation inquiries)
- Debbie Kostosky, M.A. — Administrative Assistant (liturgical ministry sign-ups, weddings, Rosary Circle; [email protected])