Memorial Chapel is a non-denominational building on the campus of the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

, constructed to honor those associated with the university who had lost their lives serving in the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

. The building, designed by Henry Powell Hopkins, actually is made up of three chapels: the Main Chapel, the West Chapel, and the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament. A Vietnam Veterans Memorial was constructed on the Chapel grounds in 1988. The steeple of the chapel is the highest point on campus.

History

In 1946, the university's Board of Regents approved the construction of the chapel, after four students presented a petition of 1,348 signatures to the Board for the construction of an interdenominational place of worship on campus. In 1948, it was decided that the building would be dedicated to veterans of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The building's dedication took place on October 12, 1952, with then-Maryland Governor

Theodore McKeldin Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin (November 20, 1900August 10, 1974) was an American politician. He was a member of the Republican Party, served as mayor of Baltimore twice, from 1943 to 1947 and again from 1963 to 1967. McKeldin was the 53rd Governor ...

delivering the dedication address. Alumni donations led to a restoration in the 1980s,Memorial Chapel , University of Maryland
Chapel.umd.edu. Retrieved on 2011-03-04. and the Class of 1997's Class Gift was a restoration of the chapel's West Courtyard. For the first 40-plus years of the chapel's existence, the Memorial Chapel

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...

rang out Maryland's state song, "

Maryland, My Maryland "Maryland, My Maryland" was the state song of the U.S. state of Maryland from 1939 until 2021. The song is set to the melody of "Lauriger Horatius" — the same tune "O Tannenbaum" was taken from. The lyrics are from a nine-stanza poem written by ...

." On April 21, 1999, however, the carillon began to play the University of Maryland alma mater "Hail! Alma Mater." The carillon has continued to chime out the alma mater before noon daily. The Class of 1992's Senior Class Gift was a refurbishment of the carillon.Traditions at The University of Maryland
Umd.edu. Retrieved on 2011-03-04.

Usage

Memorial Chapel Cercis canadensis redbud

The Memorial Chapel attracts over 80,000 visitors each year, and hosts upwards of 1,200 events annually, including commencement ceremonies, concerts, convocations, lectures, and weddings. Weddings at the chapel are particularly popular among Maryland alumni and members of the university community, as 84% of the weddings that have taken place at the chapel had at least one connection to the university. Visitors of the Chapel include

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

Senator John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

, Senator Joseph Tydings, and former Maryland Governor

Robert Ehrlich Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, Ehrlich represented Maryland's United States House of Representatives, Maryland ...

. A

Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than di ...

ceremony is held at the Chapel annually. The chapel is often used as place of remembrance and reflection by the university community, particularly in the aftermath of great tragedies; it has been an important meeting place and symbol during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, and in the wake of

September 11 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...

, Challenger, Columbia, 2004 Tsunami, and

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

disasters.

The Garden of Reflection and Remembrance

In 2007, following the September 11th and

tragedies, an initial grant was awarded to the Memorial Chapel to create a garden for reflection on the south side of the building for the university community. Among the features of the garden are a

labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

and a walk of remembrance. The groundbreaking for the garden took place on May 25, 2010.Free Stuff at Maryland, The University of Maryland
Freestuff.umd.edu. Retrieved on 2011-03-04.

References

External links

*
Memorial Chapel records

University of Maryland Chapel audio recordings
at the

University of Maryland Libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Memorial Chapel, University of Maryland University of Maryland, College Park University of Maryland, College Park facilities Military monuments and memorials in the United States Vietnam War monuments and memorials in the United States University and college chapels in the United States Religious buildings and structures in Prince George's County, Maryland Churches completed in 1952