What do the most well-known and celebrated dorm masses on campus have in common: Dillon Milkshake Mass, Baumer Banana Bread Mass and Fisher Ice Cream Mass?
They all take place in male dorms.
Why? Because, among other reasons, those dorms all have one crucial resource: a priest-in-residence.
In fact, every single men’s dorm at Notre Dame has a priest-in-residence. This allows for daily or near-daily Mass, consistent spiritual guidance, opportunities for confession and adoration and a priest who knows the names, faces and hearts of the students he serves. This is a cornerstone of the Holy Cross model of residential spiritual formation.
Now, ask yourself this: If I wanted to go to a dorm Mass on a random Thursday night, where couldn’t I go?
Any women’s dorm.
Not a single one would be holding Mass that night. Meanwhile, eight male dorms offer Mass on Thursdays.
Let’s look at the numbers.
Male dorms hold Mass an average of 4.2 times per week; eight of the 16 male dorms offer Mass five times a week (Keenan and Stanford Halls counting as one dorm because they have a shared chapel), no male dorm holds Mass fewer than three times weekly and all male dorms have a priest-in-residence.
Female dorms hold Mass an average of 2.2 times per week: 13 of the 15 offer Mass only twice a week and over half of female dorms don’t have a priest-in-residence.
This gap isn’t just a difference. It’s a spiritual disparity that many women on this campus feel and experience.
And yes, technically, we can attend Mass in a men’s dorm and many of us do. But it’s not just about going to Mass. It’s about belonging in a space where spiritual life is cultivated consistently, where the sacraments and relationships with clergy are part of our daily life, where we feel seen, shepherded and supported. It’s about forming a spiritual home within our dorm communities, not seeking them in other spaces which clearly aren’t our own. Attending Mass in a men’s dorm, where traditions are deeply rooted in brotherhood, is both beautiful and disheartening. It’s inspiring to witness their strong spiritual culture, but it underscores what we lack.
As a resident of Breen-Phillips Hall since freshman year, I know exactly the lackluster spiritual life characteristic at many women’s dorms firsthand. Last year, for the first time ever, Breen-Phillips was assigned and welcomed a priest-in-residence. He helped to transform the spiritual life of our dorm. Over time, people began forming relationships with him, which contributed to more consistent mass attendance and what felt like a greater sense of a spiritual community forming.
Then our priest-in-residence was called away after just one year. His apartment, newly built and fully outfitted for a priest, has sat empty. The Breen-Phillips community was never told why it hasn’t been filled. Since then, we’ve gone back to a schedule of rotating priests who often don’t know our names, rarely stay after Mass, and sometimes seem to be rehearsing homilies meant for the men’s dorm mass they will say right after ours. This experience is not unique to Breen-Phillips. For the eight women’s halls (1,516 women) who do not have a priest-in-residence, this is a weekly routine.
And it doesn’t stop with Mass.
While male students receive emails, flyers and direct invitations to consider joining Holy Cross, women must seek out religious life on their own. There is no parallel infrastructure for women’s vocational discernment at Notre Dame. For male students, it’s visible and accessible, even if you don’t want to encounter it. For women, it’s invisible unless you go digging.
I understand that Holy Cross is a male order. I understand why men at Notre Dame may more readily see paths into religious life and priesthood. But that should not excuse what feels like a disproportionate investment in men's spiritual formation over women’s. And it should not mean that female students go without access to regular pastoral support in their own dorms.
If Notre Dame is truly a place that seeks to form the hearts and minds of all of its students, we have to ask: why is the formation of women’s spiritual lives treated as less of a priority?
If we truly believe in the mission of Holy Cross and the promise of residential life as a cornerstone of spiritual development, then it’s time to extend that promise equally to all students, in every dorm.
Anne Griffin
Class of 2022
Sept. 16
