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In search of solitude and a place to read theology on the Cornell campus on a chilly February morning, I wandered into Sage Chapel and found some of the finest funeral monuments that I’ve seen this year. Deeply moved by the peace that I found there, I thought that it would be an appropriate first entry for this webpage.
A brief word to history: the chapel was founded, is named for, and is the final resting place of one Henry Sage, who is considered a secondary founder of the university as a whole (behind Ezra Cornell). I appreciate what the chapel stood for when Sage bequeathed it to the university: he insisted that it should never be held by a single sect, and that it is meant as an enticing option for students, but never as a requirement for their time at the university. It remains that way today. Even as an outsider to the campus, the doors were open to me. I was allowed to sit in silence and ponder the beautiful murals, stonework, and architecture. Midway through, someone began playing the massive pipe organ in the back of the chapel, which was a real treat.
On Google Maps, the area is marked as “Sage Chapel Crypt.” Naturally, this excited me, and I went in search of the “crypt.” The basement of the building is not the crypt itself, surprisingly— instead it’s a gathering place and storage facility for the glee club and various choir groups on campus (see attached photos of heaps of sheet music, waiting for a more permanent home).
The crypt is an offshoot off of the nave, bearing the same high-ceilinged Gothic architecture as the rest of the church. Most eye catching is the Tiffany stained glass, depicting a mix of key figures in the history of education, saints, and some of the interred side by side. The main event is the collection of four sarcophagi carved from white stone, filling the space.
Ezra Cornell’s sarcophagus is the first visible, the focal point of the crypt.
[Notes on each of the sarcophagi]
Something that heightened my enjoyment of the space was the fact that a couch and a kneeler waited for my use, facing one of the sarcophagi. Though many parts of the church had turned into improvised storage areas, this couch seemed more intentional; the pillows were fluffed and it sat beside a fan, unplugged in the winter but no doubt of use in the hot summer months. Despite the intended “austerity” of the space, effort had been made to invite the observer in, to give them comfortable places to rest and contemplate in an otherwise physically uncomfortable (hard stone, cold brick) place. I spent a nice, long time sitting there, just thinking.
According to sources online, thirteen bodies total are interred in the crypt and in the building itself. I believe some of them are cremated, placed in urns, and interred in the walls or floors around the nave. Many placards are placed up “in memory” of important University figures, and often whether or not their remains are present or only memorialized there is unclear. Two places where it is explicitly clear, however, are in the case of Sage and his wife, interred beneath the altar space and the dome of the front apse. Their burials are marked with text, and they are surrounded by more Tiffany glass placed by their children in memorial to them.
I’ll let the beautiful, intricate mosaic around the altar space speak for itself. It’s a beautiful neoclassical testament to science and the arts.
Other points of interest: A stained glass window memorializes three people killed during the Freedom Summer, one of whom was a Cornell student.
Both Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. spoke here, and a plaque near the intricate stone podium notes this.
I’m enamored with the many non-denominational chapels that are to be found on college campuses across America and hope to explore more, in the hopes of finding more academics interred there. I think it’s quite beautiful that the founding forces of Cornell remain here, in a place that provides comfort and solace to students forevermore.
Last Updated: February 14th, 2023. All photos are taken by me and free to use in all contexts.