Renovating the Spiritual Center of Seton Hall University:
The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception

The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception has been serving the spiritual needs of Seton Hall’s students, faculty, friends, administrators and community for almost 150 years. Built during the Civil War, this beautiful brownstone chapel was consecrated in 1856 by Newark Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley.

Since then, the Chapel has stood like a sentinel on the University’s green, a witness to the tremendous expansion of Seton Hall as a center of education for the mind, the heart and the spirit. It is a place of fond memories for those who have celebrated mass, baptisms, ordinations and marriages within its walls.

Time takes its toll. While the grandeur of the building still stands out, deterioration has made its mark. Fortunately, because of a recent replacement, the roof is in excellent condition. However, the Chapel’s beautiful exterior brownstone and world-renowned Mayer of Munich stained glass windows are in serious need of repair.

The Chapel serves as Seton Hall’s present spiritual center, as well as the distinctive link to its past. No other building on campus plays such important dual roles. In 1863, Bishop Bayley called upon the community to support the construction of a chapel at Seton Hall. Today, 150 years later, that same Chapel needs and deserves a renovation that will prevent further deterioration, highlight its historic significance, refurbish its inherent beauty, and emphasize its hallowed position at the heart of Seton Hall University.