The psalmist who penned, “If I make my bed in the depths, you are there,” most likely wasn’t imagining a literal bed at the bottom of the world, let alone an entire church.

And yet, the Chapel of the Snows at the U.S. McMurdo Station in Antarctica incites an entirely new reassurance for this verse that yes, even in the most desolate places, the Lord’s presence dwells. 

Built in 1956, the Chapel of the Snows is the second southernmost religious building in the world and is one of eight churches on Antarctica, the continent that’s around the size of the U.S. and Mexico combined. The chapel was not originally in the plans for McMurdo, but as construction of the station ramped up, the chaplain and a few volunteers discovered they had enough leftover material to build a sturdy structure. A heater fire destroyed the original building in 1978, and the new chapel, which still stands today, was rebuilt in 1989. 

The residents at McMurdo Station, of which there can be up to a thousand during the summer months, organize religious services at the chapel every week, including a Shabbat service on Friday nights, an interfaith service on Sunday mornings, and a Catholic service immediately after. As no permanent faith leaders dwell on the continent, residents take turns leading the services. 

The chapel itself is peaceful and quaint, with six rows of pews and a maximum capacity of 63 people. Shelves of Bibles line the entrance, available to all who attend. Light pours in from the window at the front of the space that opens to a vast mountain range and snow-covered ground stretching on for miles. The stained glass above the window portrays a penguin, and two painted penguins wave to visitors as they leave. 

The space and location of the Chapel of the Snows allows for several unique experiences. Robert Mullenax, a meteorologist who contracts for NASA, often stays at McMurdo from mid-November to mid-January, and has spent many Christmases worshiping there. 

“We have probably the only place in the world where you go to Midnight Mass (for Christmas) and have to wear sunglasses inside the church, because the sun is so bright,” he told the National Catholic Register. 

In 2003, filmmaker Anthony Powell, who was working on an Antarctica documentary, and his wife Christine were married in the chapel to mark the continent’s first “white wedding.” He had proposed with an ice sculpture of an engagement ring, and a local plumber constructed their wedding rings out of brass. 

“Everything was hand-made from materials already there,” Powell explained to the Church Times. “It was a truly unique experience and felt really down to earth, not something that could be replicated anywhere else.” 

Aside from the quirks of the chapel, several attendees have commented on the overwhelming sense of peace and serenity they feel when worshiping in such a remote location. Sandra Wain, who took an expedition to the continent in 2020, said she felt very close to God in the stillness of the place and was “touched by the silence that the Antarctic offered…You sort of take a deep breath in, and you almost don’t want to breathe out because you want to hold the moment forever.” 

Elaine Krebs visited McMurdo in early 2023 to conduct research at the station, and noted that it was the community of people at the Chapel of the Snows that made Mass feel familiar, even in an entirely unfamiliar place. According to Krebs, worshiping in the chapel with a small group of Catholics whom she had just met was a wonderfully meaningful experience.

She shared, “Staring past the stained-glass window to the Royal Society Mountains behind the Ross Sea, I felt full of peace, at home on this distant continent.”