The Interfaith Prayer Space

The Interfaith Prayer Space was dedicated on February 18th, 2009 after a year and a half long process. The space is located in Husman Hall, and can be entered from the courtyard on the side facing the Cintas Center. Xavier Interfaith Club members played a key role in the long process of finding and creating the space, even proposing the layout with the new entry and pushing for a running water source. Coincidentally, the same year our work to make a neutral prayer space came to fruition, Rabbi Ingber joined the university leading Interfaith Community Engagement. Essential to the success of the project were Campus Ministry and the Student Government Association, which approved funding to transform the rarely used Husman chapel.

The space is meant for all students and is supposed to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the year. Within the space is a small fountain for ritual washing, as well as a number of chairs for the purpose of holding small worship services. The ceiling is also marked with an arrow indicating the direction of Mecca. Along the back wall are a series of cabinets for holding religious texts and other books, students' prayer mats, and other items. For more information on the space, or to reserve the space for a religious service, please contact Campus Ministry.

Below is a video of the entire dedication ceremony. Although the video is poor quality due to the back lighting from the window, the audio is good. Images of the prayer space can be viewed in our photo gallery.