STM Reflection

 

Chapel Memories: Hon. Guido Calabresi

Guido and Anne Wedding_croppedOur wedding, on May 20, 1961, was the first wedding in ordinary course at the Chapel.  There had been a couple of war-time weddings, but the Chapel was not permitted to hold regular weddings.  (I believe local parishes feared losing business).  Anne and I wanted to be married there and so I wrote a lawyer’s brief to the archbishop arguing my case. 

I made two points.  First, that I worshiped regularly at the Chapel, that I thought it was important for students to see their teachers there, and, as a result, that it had become my parish.  (I don’t think this moved the archbishop much).  Second, I noted that I didn’t think Yale’s President or other University potentates had ever set foot in the Catholic Chapel.  (That was, what Yale then still was.)  Because of Anne’s family and my own Yale position, they would all be there.  This I wrote might do them good!  The archbishop gave permission.  The wedding was splendid; the first of many splendid weddings.  And, perhaps, it also helped Yale to change and become what it is today.

Join us at the 80th Anniversary Celebration of STM Chapel at Yale by following the link: https://stm.yale.edu/80-years