About Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel (Thomas Aquinas College) · Northfield, Massachusetts
Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel is the Catholic chapel serving Thomas Aquinas College's New England campus in Northfield, Massachusetts. Originally built in 1909 as a Protestant chapel named for railroad executive Russell Sage, the cruciform Rockport-granite building was converted into a Catholic chapel in 2019–2021 to anchor the spiritual life of the College's New England students and faculty. Daily Mass in both the ordinary and extraordinary form, plus all-night First Friday adoration, rosary, vespers, and compline, make the chapel the rhythmic heart of campus life.
- Established
- 1909
- Patron
- Our Mother of Perpetual Help (Our Lady of Perpetual Help)
- Rector
- Rev. Greg Markey (Head Chaplain and Assistant to the Dean for Religious Affairs)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts
Why belong here
The chapel places the Mass at the literal center of campus life: 'We don't schedule anything during the Masses so students and faculty can always get to daily Mass' (Fr. Greg Markey). Daily Mass is offered in both the ordinary and extraordinary (Traditional Latin) forms, the Blessed Sacrament is adored Monday through Thursday evenings and all night on First Fridays, and the day closes with a student-led rosary at 9:15 p.m. — a rhythm designed to form young Catholics who carry a habit of prayer into the rest of their lives. Pilgrims and visitors are welcomed to any of the regularly scheduled Masses.
Mass times at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel (Thomas Aquinas College)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Daily before and after each Mass
- Anytime by request
Adoration times
- Monday – Thursday, 5:45 PM – 6:45 PM (Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament)
- All night on the First Friday of each month
History of the Chapel
Constructed in 1909 on the campus of the Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies, the chapel was designed by the Boston firm Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge — the architects of Stanford's original quadrangle, Boston's Ames Building, and the Chicago Public Library. Built of Rockport granite in the Collegiate Gothic style, it was a gift of Margaret Olivia Sage, who named it for her late husband, Russell Sage. For more than a century it served as a Protestant chapel before being acquired and renamed by Thomas Aquinas College in 2019.
- 1909 — Chapel constructed on the Northfield Seminary campus
- Architects: Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge (Boston)
- Style: Collegiate Gothic (a variant of Gothic Revival)
- Original name: Sage Chapel, for financier Russell Sage
- 2019 — Renamed Our Mother of Perpetual Help just weeks before the campus opened
Transformation into a Catholic Chapel (2019–2021)
Beginning in 2019, the College undertook a complete interior transformation led by Harrison Design (principal architects Nicolas Leo Charbonneau and Anthony Grumbine, a TAC alumnus) and the John Canning Co. The goal, in the words of David Riccio, was 'an unapologetically Catholic interior.' The project earned the 2022 Bulfinch Award for ecclesiastical design from the New England chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.
- Harrison Design served as architect; John Canning Co. handled decorative work
- New central marble altar and carved reredos installed
- 19th-century French Neo-Gothic tabernacle placed below the Crucifixion
- Confessionals, altar rail, kneelers, and a central aisle for processions added
- Century-old Stations of the Cross salvaged from a closed Pittsburgh-area church
The Reredos, Statues, and Relics
The chapel's reredos centers on a large Gothic-style crucifix flanked by images of the Blessed Mother and St. John the Evangelist. Flanking shrines hold statues of St. Thomas Aquinas (the College's patron) and St. John Henry Newman, and the altar itself contains relics of both saints. The pieces were installed in 2021 but are designed to look as though they have always been part of the chapel.
- Statue of St. Thomas Aquinas
- Statue of St. John Henry Newman
- Relics of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. John Henry Newman in the altar
The Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
A red-oak shrine to the side of the sanctuary was designed and constructed to complement the chapel's Gothic architecture. Its centerpiece is an original icon in traditional Byzantine style, written specifically for this chapel by a cloistered nun from the Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem in New York. The icon's decorative patterns inspired the stencilwork and sunbursts that fill the sanctuary walls, and a mosaic replica of the icon now appears on the façade above the main entrance.
- Icon written by a cloistered nun of the Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem (New York)
- Shrine crafted from red oak to match the chapel's original woodwork
- Mosaic replica installed on the façade above the main entry
Daily Prayer and the Liturgy of the Hours
The rhythm of the day at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel is closed each evening with the Rosary at 9:15 PM, and the week includes sung Vespers on Sunday afternoons and Compline (Night Prayer) on Wednesday evenings.
- Vespers — Sunday, 4:30 PM
- Compline (Night Prayer) — Wednesday, 8:45 PM
- Rosary — Daily, 9:15 PM
Chaplains and Pastoral Care
The New England campus is served by two full-time resident chaplains. The founding chaplain, Rev. Greg Markey, was appointed in 2019 ahead of the campus's opening and is described by Dean John Goyette as 'an excellent chaplain' who 'celebrates the sacred liturgy in both the ordinary and extraordinary forms, has experience working with young adults, and has a real love for St. Thomas and the Catholic intellectual tradition.'
- Rev. Greg Markey — Head Chaplain and Assistant to the Dean for Religious Affairs (since 2019)
- Rev. John Mary Chung — Chaplain
- Chaplain's office: St. Thomas More Hall, Rm. 27
Weddings and Alumni Use
Since 2021, Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel has also served as a wedding chapel for Thomas Aquinas College alumni. Couples who met on the New England campus have returned to the chapel where they prayed together as students.
- Weddings of alumni couples hosted since 2021
- Central aisle modified by TAC alumni woodworkers to accommodate liturgical processions and weddings
Visiting the Chapel
Pilgrims and visitors are welcomed to attend any of the regularly scheduled Masses in Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel. The chapel is site #12 on the Thomas Aquinas College New England campus map, located at 231 Main Street, Northfield, Massachusetts.
- Address: 231 Main Street, Northfield, Massachusetts
- Campus map: chapel is site #12
- Open to visitors for scheduled Masses and devotions
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Greg Markey2019–present
First chaplain of the New England campus, appointed before the 2019 opening. A native of New England raised in Connecticut, ordained in 1999 for the Diocese of Bridgeport; holds a B.A. in political science from the University of New Hampshire, master's degrees in divinity and moral theology from Mount St. Mary's University, and a licentiate in philosophy from The Catholic University of America.