Season of light

December 2023

By University of Notre Dame

December 18^th, 2023

A resident of Alumni Hall lights a candle on the wreath for week two of Advent before Mass in the chapel.

Rev. Gerard J. Olinger, C.S.C., presides at the Sunday night candlelight Mass in the chapel at Alumni Hall.

Sunday night candlelight Mass in the chapel at Alumni Hall.

Students (left to right) Áine Boyle, Sarah Kerber, Maggie Lewis, and Jessica Gordon pray during a candlelight prayer service in the chapel at Lewis Hall.

Students attend a candlelight prayer service in the chapel at Lewis Hall.

University of Notre Dame students gathered on campus to celebrate Las Posadas, a Latin American tradition. The event, organized by Campus Ministry, included a procession through campus, prayer, singing, and traditional foods.

Las Posadas, which translates to “the inns,” is a novenario or extended devotional prayer celebrated each year between Dec. 16 and 24 in Latin America and by Hispanics in the United States. The nine-day celebration during the Advent season commemorates the journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem and their search for a safe refuge where Mary could give birth.