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SLU Community Invited to Join Virtual Mass, Blessing for New SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital Chapel

by Maggie Rotermund
Media Inquiries

Maggie Rotermund
Senior Media Relations Specialist
maggie.rotermund@slu.edu
314-977-8018

Reserved for members of the media.

The Saint Louis University community is invited to a livestream of the first official Mass in the recently completed chapel in the new SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. The Mass and a blessing of the space will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 23.

Chapel
The Orthwein Chapel in the new SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital. SLUCare photo. 

The Mass will  be presided over by Mark S. Rivituso, auxiliary bishop with the Archdiocese of St. Louis. David Suwalsky, S.J., SLU’s vice president for mission and identity, will be co-celebrant and homilist. 

Watch Livestream

Suwalsky said Mass will feature the readings and prayers for the Feast of St. Louis of France, the patron saint of the city and the University. 

The sacred space and the new hospital will officially be blessed by the Archdiocese of St. Louis in the small, live-streamed ceremony, beginning at 10 a.m. The service marks the first weekly sacrament to be offered in the chapel.

“Rather than a brunch or reception following the Mass and the hospital blessing, it was decided to send the money which would have been spent on brunch to St. Patrick’s Center to support the Center’s meal service to the homeless,” Suwalsky said. 

The new SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital opens Sept. 1. The $550 million SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and ambulatory care center features more than 800,000 square feet of space, 316 private patient rooms, an expanded Level I trauma center and emergency department, larger intensive care units, expanded patient parking, green space and areas for future campus expansion.

The Orthwein Chapel, built through a generous donation by David Thornley Orthwein, is located on the ground level of the hospital complex. It is an open, multi-story sanctuary bathed in the colorful sunlight of a stained glass window with images depicting the hospital’s mission.