n the photo at left, Father Ben Haas, right, celebrates communion during the Ice Mass in 2022 at Michigan Tech University. In the photo above right, people attend the Ice Mass inside the Ice Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows at St. Albert the Great University Parish in Houghton. The photo above shows a stained ice rosary window. (Courtesy photos)

By Journal Staff

HOUGHTON — A unique winter experience is back for another year.

The annual Ice Mass in the Ice Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows is a Roman Catholic Mass celebrated in a chapel hand-built from ice and snow by Michigan Tech University students and area residents.

The Mass, which coincides with Michigan Tech’s Winter Carnival, has gained international attention, according to parish officials.

The celebration represents a unique expression of Catholic faith in the deep snow country of the Keweenaw, according to a press release.

There will be three Masses over the weekend starting at 5:30 p.m. Friday. There will be a second Mass at 10 p.m. Friday with the final Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday

All Masses will take place at St. Albert the Great University Parish, which is located at 411 Macinnes Drive in Houghton.

For those who cannot attend in person, Mass will be live-streamed on the parish’s Facebook page.

Participants may register online for the link to the live stream at mtucatholic.org/icemass.

The parish said each year the chapel becomes more elaborately built.

The highlights of this year’s chapel are:

¯ an ice altar built of multiple slabs of ice, each weighing hundreds of pounds and pulled up by hand from Lake Superior

¯ stained ice windows created by dyed ice mosaics and hand-painted panels of ice that were all done by MTU students

¯ a functional confessional carved from snow

¯ hand-carved side aisles

¯ an elevated pulpit tower

¯ a Marian Grotto, which is a small cave or cavern-like structure.

The Ice Mass has become a regular and well-attended part of MTU’s Winter Carnival.

The carnival is one of the largest annual winter festivals in the U.S.

For more information call Allison Hadjis at 231-519-1176 or email allison@mtucatholic.org.