A History of the IHM Motherhouse Chapel

Sister Mary Jo (Patrick Ellen) Maher, IHM, pored through the Motherhouse chronicles and other documents within the IHM Archives to craft a thorough history of the beautiful Chapel.

“The Motherhouse Chapel is a sacred place. When asked to reflect on what the Chapel means to them, members of the IHM community recalled many memories – particularly the hours they spent there in personal prayer, the times they brought to Chapel both their tears and their gratitude, and the joys they experienced at reception and profession ceremonies and still experience at jubilant Eucharistic celebrations.”

Sister Mary Jo, preface

In the early 1930s, the sisters built the new St. Mary Academy and Motherhouse and were also paying off the debt to build Marygrove College. Although they could not afford to build the Chapel at the same time as the Motherhouse, they began saving and by late 1938, they had enough money to begin. Ground was broken on Founders’ Day, Nov. 10, 1938.

The history includes information about all aspects of the Chapel, from the architecture to the windows to the furnishings and is full of photos, both historical and current.