Saint Thomas More Chapel and Golden Center

In 1922, Father Thomas Lawrason Riggs (Yale ‘10) obtained permission from the Archdiocese of Hartford to establish himself as a Chaplain at Yale (1). A Yale alum with a focus on campus ministry, Riggs’s goal was to encourage Catholic worship at Yale, while increasing the Catholic population of students. For years he lobbied the Archdiocese of Hartford for permission to erect a Chapel on campus that would fully allow him to achieve his original goals (1). Finally, in 1935, he was granted this charter, and the history of Saint Thomas More Chapel began (1). Campaigning to raise over $200,000 and working with architect William Douglas (Yale ‘18), Father Riggs paved the way for Catholic students at Yale to worship freely without being criticized for their faith (2,3).

Over time Saint Thomas More Chapel (STM), completed in 1938 and still standing today, has been renovated and expanded to accommodate the growth of Yale, and specifically the increase in Catholics as a fraction of Yale’s student population (1). In 1959, a renovation costing around $178,000 added a north wing with meeting rooms and a rectory onto the Chapel, creating a place for Chaplains to reside and be more accessible to students (4).

In 1997, the Board of Trustees and current Chaplain Father Robert Beloin began a campaign to open a student center connected to the Chapel that could support the increase in student involvement at STM (5). The Golden Center, a $25 million building that resulted from campaign, opened in 2006, was designed by architect Cesar Pelli who has completed many projects on Yale’s campus (6). With glass courtyards allowing natural light to flow into the building, both the exterior and interior design of the building is inviting to students. It is a place to study, socialize, and pray - practices which relate to Father Riggs’s original goals of bringing together Catholic students. The prominent location of the STM Chapel and Golden Center, situated directly across Pierson and Davenport Colleges, allows students to access the building easily from campus and has helped destigmatize the idea of being a Catholic at Yale.

1938 - 1959: Saint Thomas More Corporation

1959 - 1960: STM Corporation, Father Edwin O'Brien resided in the rectory

1960 - 1966: STM Corporation, Father James Healey resided in the rectory

1966 - 1989: STM Corporation, Father Richard Russell resided in the rectory

1989 - 1992: STM Corporation, Father Michael Gosselin resided in the rector

1992 - 1994: STM Corporation, Father David Baranowski resided in the rectory

1994 - present: STM Corporation, Father Robert Beloin resided in the rectory

While the STM Chapel has stood on 268 Park Street since 1938, the Sanborn Maps and earlier maps of New Haven provide a history of the site prior to the construction of the Chapel. A map of New Haven in 1824 shows that the block bordered by Howe Street and York Street has not been divided, so Park Street does not yet exist (see image, 11). It is sometime between 1824 and 1830 that Park Street is first created, as it is present in the 1830 New Haven map by surveyor D.W. Buckingham (see image, 12). While the 1830 map does not depict any buildings on Park, a map in 1847 shows the street to be lined with buildings (presumably residences and small shops), providing a foundation for STM’s site history (see image, 12,13).

Beginning with 1886, the Sanborn Maps provide details about the specific type of buildings that occupied the property prior to the Chapel and Golden Center. In 1886, the site contained a few dwellings and both Seabrook & Smith and D. Tobin Carriage Companies, as in the late 19th century New Haven was the center of America’s carriage industry (see Sanborn Map of 1886, 14). The rise of automobiles in the early 20th century led to the rapid decline of carriage companies, and these buildings were soon replaced by an auto repair store and White City Candy Company, another popular New Haven industry at the time (see Sanborn Map of 1924). By 1937, these buildings and residences had been demolished to allow for the construction of the Chapel (see images).

Since 1938 the Chapel has been owned by the Saint Thomas More Corporation. The addition of the rectory in 1959, a project spearheaded by Father Riggs’s successor Father Edwin O'Brien, provided a place for the Chaplin to reside (4). Following Father O’Brien, who lived in the rectory until 1960, Father James Healey, Father Richard Russell, Father Michael Gosselin, Father David Baranowski, and Father Robert Beloin (the current Chaplain) have also taken up residence at STM (7). These Chaplains have worked to increase the awareness of Catholicism both in the Yale and New Haven communities. 

The most important role this building as played over the past eighty years has been providing a place for Catholics at Yale to worship freely without feeling condemned. This original goal of Father Riggs has been supported since his death by the STM Corporation who has funded multiple renovations and additions to the Chapel in order to serve the increasing Catholic population at Yale. It is likely that this increase in Catholic students is directly correlated to the presence of a Chapel and student center on campus, as Megan Roberts (Yale ‘21) stated, “I wasn’t sure if Yale was the school for me, but attending a Mass at STM and seeing the Catholic community there convinced me that [Yale] was where I was meant to be” (15).

Located on Park Street, the STM Chapel and Golden Center lies in close proximity to the heart of Yale’s campus. Directly across from Davenport and Pierson Colleges, STM is also surrounded by off-campus undergraduate residences and fraternity houses, and is steps away from the heavily frequented Broadway commercial area (as shown in the annotated Google Maps image). Thus, it is a place regularly passed by students, which has fostered an increase in awareness of Catholic life at Yale.

The original plan for the Chapel was designed by architect William Douglas and Father Riggs, who desired to blend the grandeur of a traditional Gothic Chapel with the simplicity of a New England meetinghouse (1). This collaboration resulted in a red brick Colonial Revival style Chapel with clear-cut glass windows that enclose either side of the nave, emphasizing openness and light (1,8). A series of unsympathetic adjustments to the Chapel during the 1970s and 1980s depreciated the integrity of the building, diminishing aspects of brilliance that the original structure boasted (8). In an effort to restore the Chapel back to its original character, the STM Corporation hired Knight Architecture, a New Haven firm, to complete renovations in 2008 (8).

To the left of the Chapel, the new addition of the Golden Center features a more modern style of architecture. The two story building, built of brick and wood, was designed to complement, but not upstage, the Chapel (9). Windows covering the building provide natural light, which beyond creating a warm and inviting atmosphere, allows the building to be open and transparent to the Yale community, one of the project’s initial goals (10). Furthermore, the addition also connects STM to Yale’s campus as the piazza which contains the entrance to the Golden Center was intentionally positioned to line up with the preexisting gates of Pierson College (10). Someone standing on York Street can actually peer through the gates of Pierson and see all the way to the Golden Center on Park Street!

1. Wilkinson, Virginia. "Saint Thomas More Chapel: An Historical Sketch of the Catholic Chapel at Yale." The STM Archives. Last modified October 8, 1978. Accessed February 25, 2018.  http://stmarchives.omeka.net/items/show/5.
2. Riggs, Thomas Lawrason. "Saint Thomas More House at Yale University: A Proposed Chapel and Catholic Center." Saint Thomas More Library, New Haven, CT.
3. Catalogue of Yale University. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1921.
4. "Saint Thomas More House: The Catholic Chapel and Center in Yale University." Saint Thomas More Library, New Haven, CT.
5. Saint Thomas More Chaplaincy Newsletter, Fall 1997. Saint Thomas More Library, New Haven, CT.
6. O'Leary, Mary. "Yale's Historic St. Thomas More Chapel Renovated." The Hour. Last modified November 14, 2008. Accessed February 25, 2018. https://www.thehour.com/norwalk/article/Yale-s-historic-St-Thomas-More-Chapel-renovated-8268279.php.
7. Woodford, Sarah. Interview by the author. Saint Thomas More Library, New Haven, CT. February 22, 2018.
8. "Saint Thomas More Chapel: Knight Crafts Renewal on Park Street." Design New Haven. Last modified March 24, 2009. Accessed February 24, 2018. http://downtownnewhaven.blogspot.com/2009/03/ saint-thomas-more-chapel-knight-crafts.html.
9. Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. "Thomas E. Golden Jr. Center, Yale University." Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. Accessed February 25, 2018. http://pcparch.com/pcpa_assets/2015/02/ thomas_golden_pdf.pdf.
10. Greenberg, Sam. "Religious Minorities Claiming Their Place: The Architecture of the Catholic and Jewish Centers at Yale." The STM Archives. Last modified December 18, 2012. Accessed February 25, 2018. http://stmarchives.omeka.net/items/show/4.
11. Doolittle, A. Plan of New Haven. Map. N.p.: A. Doolittle, 1824. Beinecke Library, New Haven, CT.
12. Buckingham, D.W. "Map of the City of New Haven." Map. 1830. Beinecke Library, New Haven, CT.
13. "Map of the City of New Haven." Map. 1847. Beinecke Library, New Haven, CT.
14. Theobald, Mark. "Seabrook & Smith." Coachbuilt. Last modified 2013. Accessed February 25, 2018. http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/s/seabrook_smith/seabrook_smith.htm.
15. Roberts, Megan. Interview by the author. Saint Thomas More, New Haven, CT. February 25, 2018.