In Antarctica, deep in the global south, where the winter temperatures plummet to 100 degrees below zero, there is a small cave composed of ice.
In that cave is the world’s southernmost chapel, a Catholic chapel located at the Argentinian Belgrano II Base.
Not only is this chapel uniquely located below ground, it is carved directly out of the ice.
Originally built in the 1950s, the first Belgrano Base was abandoned due to unstable and dangerous ice (large portions of Antarctica are formed from this ever-shifting ice, making safe locations for bases difficult to come by).
When a hectare of stable land was discovered, Belgrano Base II was opened, with a system of underground tunnels dug in the ice nearby. A Catholic chapel was carved from the ice inside, accessible only through the tunnels.
No matter how remote a land is, no matter the physical and emotional needs of the people, one thing can be certain: people have an innate desire to worship God. This has led to the existence of chapels and churches in some rather unlikely locations, such as the remote lands of the South Pole. As the Psalmist says:
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there thy hand shall lead me,
and thy right hand shall hold me.
—Psalm 139:9-10
Although most of us don’t need to journey below ground in below-freezing conditions to pray in a chapel made from ice, we all face some cold days here and there! This winter, fortify yourself spiritually while protecting yourself from the cold with this Jerusalem Cross Leather Patch Beanie! Available today from The Catholic Company!
