Salve Regina

Our Lady of Mercy Chapel

Centrally located on the Salve Regina University campus, Our Lady of Mercy Chapel realizes the long-held dream of the many Sisters of Mercy who have served at Salve. Consecrated in 2010, the chapel offers regular Masses during the academic year, ecumenical Taizé prayer services, and a beautiful place of contemplation, and is the setting for many Catholic weddings for graduates and community members. The first floor houses both the chapel and an interfaith prayer room designed to provide a quiet space for prayer and meditation for people of all faiths.

Architecture and Sacred Art

Designed by award-winning architect Robert A.M. Stern, the chapel's stone and shingle exterior complements the historic Shingle Style architecture of Salve's Ochre Point neighborhood, echoing Ochre Court (Hunt, 1881) and the Vinland estate (Peabody & Stearns, 1883). The sanctuary seats 250 worshipers, and a stair tower topped by a belfry and steeple creates a visual landmark for the chapel bells. A generous donation of 13 leaded opalescent stained-glass windows by renowned 19th-century artist John La Farge — originally installed in the chapel of the Caldwell House in 1890 — is displayed in an adjacent meditation room.

• Architect: Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP
• Completed/Consecrated: 2010
• Stained-glass windows: 13 leaded opalescent panels by John La Farge
• Bells: three 1910 bells cast by the Meneely Bell Company
• Capacity: 250 worshipers

Catholic Weddings at Our Lady of Mercy Chapel

Set on the oceanside campus of Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, Our Lady of Mercy Chapel offers a beautiful and reverent setting for the celebration of the sacrament of marriage in the Roman Catholic Church. Weddings follow the norms and requirements of the Diocese of Providence. To be married at the chapel, either the bride or groom must be a registered parishioner of a Roman Catholic parish, the proposed wedding date must be at least eight months away, and a Catholic priest or deacon must be secured to officiate the ceremony and oversee marriage preparation.

• Ceremony times: Fridays at 2:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 1 p.m. or 4 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m.
• Standard wedding fee: $3,000
• Fee for Salve Regina University affiliates (students, alumni, faculty, staff): $1,000
• Fees include use of chapel and grounds plus sacramental and ceremony coordinators
• Chapel is open one hour before and one hour after the ceremony
• Sacrament is officially recorded at Saint Mary's Church, Newport

Center for Spiritual Life

In keeping with the mission of Salve Regina University, the Center for Spiritual Life is a community that welcomes all people. Guided by the Catholic heritage and the charism of the Sisters of Mercy, the Center seeks to create a hospitable and nurturing environment that affirms and empowers students in their search for meaning. Located in Mercy Commons on the garden level of Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, the Center provides a large and comfortable space where students can study, cook, relax with friends, or grab a snack.

• Sunday: Noon to 8 p.m.
• Monday–Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Wednesday closes 10 p.m.)
• Thursday: 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday: Closed

Multifaith Prayer Space

Located in the Miley/Walgreen courtyard and open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., the multifaith prayer space offers resources for the expression of many faiths or a moment of peace for those who seek it during the day.

Mercy Commons and Outreach

On the lower level of the chapel, Mercy Commons houses the Center for Spiritual Life alongside the Center for Community Engagement and Service and Catherine's Cupboard. In addition, it serves as a student center with space to study, relax, meet friends, and a full kitchen available to students — embodying the Sisters of Mercy charism of service and community.

• Center for Community Engagement and Service
• Catherine's Cupboard (food pantry)
• Student common area and full kitchen

History of Salve Regina and the Chapel

Salve Regina's story reaches back nearly two centuries to the Irish Catholic laywoman Catherine McAuley, who founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831 to serve the poor, the sick, and the uneducated through an active form of religious life. In 1934 the Sisters of Mercy of Providence secured a charter from Rhode Island for Salve Regina College, named by Mother Mary Hilda Miley after the ancient Marian prayer she recited daily. After more than a dozen years of preparation, the Goelet family's gift of Ochre Court to Bishop Francis P. Keough allowed the college to open in 1947 with 58 students. The institution went coeducational in 1973 and achieved university status in 1991. The Sisters' long-held dream of a dedicated campus chapel was realized in 2010 with the consecration of Our Lady of Mercy Chapel.

• 1851 — Sisters of Mercy establish Saint Xavier Academy, first Catholic high school for girls in Rhode Island
• 1831 — Catherine McAuley founds the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin
• January 30, 1934 — Charter for Salve Regina College granted by Rhode Island General Assembly
• March 20, 1947 — Goelet family donates Ochre Court to Bishop Francis P. Keough
• Fall 1947 — Salve Regina College welcomes its first class of 58 students
• 1973 — Salve Regina becomes coeducational
• 1991 — Achieves university status as Salve Regina University
• 2010 — Our Lady of Mercy Chapel consecrated