About Our Lady of Victory Chapel, Norfolk Naval Station Chapel · Norfolk, Virginia
Our Lady of Victory Chapel is the Roman Catholic chapel serving Naval Station Norfolk, the world's largest naval base. Located inside Gate 2 in Building C-7 (Frazier Hall) at 1630 Morris Street, the chapel offers Sunday and weekday Masses, Sunday confessions, and adoration opportunities for active-duty service members, their families, retirees, and civilian employees with base access. It is one of four worship spaces that together make up the base's 'Flagship Chapel' complex, alongside the David Adams Memorial Chapel (Protestant), the Commodore Uriah P. Levy Chapel (Jewish, on the second deck), and the Islamic prayer space. Ministry is provided by Navy Catholic chaplains assigned to the installation under the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
- Patron
- Our Lady of Victory (Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title commemorating the Battle of Lepanto, 1571)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (canonical jurisdiction for U.S. military personnel and their families); the chapel is also within the territorial Diocese of Richmond.
Why belong here
Our Lady of Victory Chapel is the spiritual home for Catholic service members, families, retirees, and DoD civilians assigned to Naval Station Norfolk. The chapel gathers the fleet community around the Eucharist with a steady weekly rhythm of Sunday Mass, a midweek Mass, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Sunday Mass. Because it sits inside the base's 'Flagship Chapel' complex alongside Protestant, Jewish, and Islamic worship spaces, it is a place where Catholic Sailors can live their faith in the midst of a genuinely interfaith military community, supported by Navy Catholic chaplains trained to accompany them through deployments, sea duty, and family transitions.
Mass times at Our Lady of Victory Chapel, Norfolk Naval Station Chapel
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 9:00 AM – 9:25 AM (preceding the 9:30 AM Mass)
Adoration times
- Wednesday after the 6:00 AM Mass — Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (per JFSC chapel guide)
About Our Lady of Victory Chapel
Our Lady of Victory Chapel is the Roman Catholic chapel serving the Catholic community of Naval Station Norfolk. It sits inside the base's 'Flagship Chapel' complex — Building C-7 (Frazier Hall) at 1630 Morris Street, just inside Gate 2 — alongside the Protestant David Adams Memorial Chapel, the Jewish Commodore Uriah P. Levy Chapel on the second deck, and an Islamic prayer room, also on the second deck. The chapel exists to bring the Sacramental life of the Catholic Church to active-duty Sailors, their families, retirees, and DoD civilians working on the base, and it is staffed by Navy Catholic chaplains under the canonical care of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
- Roman Catholic chapel, Roman Rite
- Building C-7 (Frazier Hall), inside Gate 2 of Naval Station Norfolk
- Address: 1630 Morris Street, Norfolk, VA 23511
- Main office: (757) 444-7361; 24/7 Area Wide Duty Chaplain: (757) 438-3822
History
The chapel is documented as an active Catholic worship site at Norfolk's naval operating base as early as 1942, when a U.S. Navy chaplain's-school diary recorded Protestant chaplains attending Mass 'in the Chapel of Our Lady of Victory on the Base.' In 1945 the chapel gained national attention over a controversial stained-glass window designed by Wilbur Herbert Burnham, in which the Virgin Mary was shown holding a destroyer-escort ship amid modern military hardware. After objections from Protestant church councils and editorial criticism in The Christian Century, the Navy directed the artist to remove the warship and substitute the Infant Jesus — a story reported in Time magazine that remains one of the more unusual moments in mid-century American Catholic military history.
- Active Catholic chapel during World War II, when Norfolk was Atlantic Fleet headquarters
- 1945: stained-glass controversy over a Burnham-designed window depicting Our Lady holding a warship
- Named for Our Lady of Victory, recalling the Christian victory at Lepanto (October 7, 1571)
Patron: Our Lady of Victory
The chapel is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady of Victory. The title recalls the great Christian naval victory at the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571, when a Holy League fleet defeated the Ottoman navy — a victory widely attributed to the praying of the Rosary by the Christian faithful and to the intercession of Our Lady. The feast is observed in the Roman calendar as the memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7, making the patroness a particularly apt one for a chapel serving the men and women of the United States Navy.
- Patron: Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady of Victory
- Commemorates the Battle of Lepanto, October 7, 1571
- Feast observed October 7 (memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary)
Location, Building & Access
The chapel is located inside Naval Station Norfolk near Gate 2, at the corner of Maryland Street and Gilbert Street. The Catholic chapel occupies part of Building C-7 (Frazier Hall); the Protestant David Adams Memorial Chapel is in the adjoining space, and the Jewish Commodore Uriah P. Levy Chapel and the Islamic prayer room are on the second deck of the same building. Building C-9 stands directly behind the chapel facility and houses additional chapel offices and programs. Access to the chapel requires a valid military or DoD identification card.
- Address: 1630 Morris Street, Building C-7, Naval Station Norfolk, VA 23511
- Inside Gate 2, at the corner of Maryland Avenue and Gilbert Street
- Building C-9 is directly behind the chapel facility
- Main office: (757) 444-7361; 24/7 Area Wide Duty Chaplain: (757) 438-3822
The Flagship Chapel Complex
The 'Flagship Chapel' at Naval Station Norfolk is unusual among U.S. military chapel complexes in gathering four faith communities — Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Islamic — under one roof. The Catholic Our Lady of Victory Chapel and the Protestant David Adams Memorial Chapel occupy the main floor of Building C-7 (Frazier Hall), while the Jewish Commodore Uriah P. Levy Chapel and the Islamic prayer room are on the second deck. Base chaplains also facilitate religious accommodation for service members of other traditions, helping them connect with an appropriate chaplain or religious professional as requested.
- Catholic: Our Lady of Victory Chapel (main floor)
- Protestant: David Adams Memorial Chapel (main floor)
- Jewish: Commodore Uriah P. Levy Chapel (second deck)
- Islamic: prayer room (second deck)
Chapel Staff & Contact
Pastoral care at Our Lady of Victory Chapel is provided by Navy Catholic chaplains assigned to Naval Station Norfolk. The chapel's official online presence is its Facebook page at facebook.com/NSNChapel, which the base lists as the place to learn more about current programs and services. For sacramental needs or to reach a chaplain outside normal office hours, the 24/7 Area Wide Duty Chaplain line is available to those with base access.
- Main office: (757) 444-7361
- 24/7 Area Wide Duty Chaplain: (757) 438-3822
- Official Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/NSNChapel/