The Chilling Transformations of the Ice Altar

Snowflakes, candlelight, and incense mingled in the night air, surrounding about forty Hope College students and community members as they celebrated Catholic Mass earlier this month on the outdoor Ice Altar.

Spearheaded two years ago by Will Hurley ‘23, the Ice Altar has gradually grown into a challenging but beloved annual project for members of Hope Catholics and others. The altar began as a relatively small and simple idea but has since taken on added complexity, according to Drew Hoeksema ‘25. “Over the years, we got more and more ambitious with our construction, adding more detail to the project than the previous year.” 

This year’s altar came with the addition of a presider’s chair for Father Nick (the on-campus priest at Hope College), a carved altar, railing, and bigger lectionary–all made of snow and ice. Briget Crombie ‘27, who helped lead the project this year, credited Hurley as the “mastermind behind the tradition of the Ice Altar at Hope College…[he] did the blueprints for the ice altar and upgraded some of the tools we used this year to make the ice altar bigger and better.” 

Some new building techniques this year included using a PVC pipe to create perfect cylinders for the railings, as well as a machete to cut ice to the desired shape. Students utilized trash cans as snow-packing containers to make the snow sturdy enough to stack and spray bottles to make slush to better adhere snow. 

“I remember as a little kid building forts and igloos in the snow, but getting to build something that serves a liturgical purpose for the Church is so cool,” stated Crombie. “I think it’s such an amazing witness to all Christians and non-Christians on campus.”

Elena Mullaney ‘27 echoed these thoughts, saying that the outdoor altar “stands as a witness to the Hope College community but also shows the dedication we have to our faith, [as we’re] trying to actively make it beautiful and a worthy instrument of glorifying God.”

Because of freezing temperatures followed by unexpected warming (and snow melting), there was only one Mass celebrated on the Ice Altar this year. It was celebrated on January 14, shortly after the passing of Jennifer Kasunick, a Hope College student. “There’s something beautiful and sacred about celebrating Mass outside, to be out in God’s creation. We only had one mass, but it was a Requiem mass celebrated in honor of Jennifer,” said Crombie.

The Ice Altar continues to draw more students each year and growth promises to continue in the future. This year, students devoted more than twenty hours to the building of the altar. Joseph D’Amico ‘27, who was involved in the building of the altar for the first time this year, stated that he was “very impressed with how systematic a plan they [the team leaders] had for building it, from the board to the railings.”

Older students expressed excitement about the effort and enthusiasm that incoming freshmen like Henry Dee ‘29 and Joseph Schmiedicke ‘29 brought to the project. “I know that when I step down from this, they’re going to do a phenomenal job to continue to build this beautiful tradition,” said Crombie.

(Featured image source: Elena Mullaney)