Two weeks after a part of the east wall of Dahlgren Chapel collapsed, the building will reopen Sunday for weekend events while the university monitors its reconstruction.

Although Dahlgren will be open for Sunday Masses and Saturday weddings, weekday proceedings will still be relocated to other locations on or near campus. By tomorrow, a temporary fix will be put in place that Jacques Arsenault (COL ’01), a university spokesperson, said “allows [for] both the protection of the east wall and the safety of occupants.”

Arsenault added that, on weekdays, workers will “conduct a full analysis of the chapel’s entire foundation and conduct repairs as necessary.” The university is planning to undertake a more extensive reconstruction of the east wall in the near future, he said.

For at least a year, there were two long cracks in this section of the chapel, and during the 12:30 p.m. Mass on Sept. 9, a large chunk of plaster fell off, causing Masses and meetings regularly held in Dahlgren to be relocated for the past two weeks. Several students, including some members of the chapel choir and the Catholic Daughters, expressed frustration with the inconvenience.

Arsenault said that measures are being taken to protect the 114-year-old chapel in the next two to three weeks, during which workers will be inspecting the foundation and making minor repairs. The wall will be covered during this time period, and the rose window on the east wall of the chapel will be removed and maintained for future reinstallation after the wall is reconstructed.

No specific timetable has been set for the project’s completion. “It will depend on findings as the work takes place,” Arsenault said.

Mary Shaffer (COL ’09), a member of the chapel choir, expressed relief that the chapel will reopen part-time. The choir has practiced in Copley Crypt since Dahlgren closed.

“This is my third year singing in Dahlgren Chapel and I really miss the stained glass windows and the acoustics, for example,” she said. “It’ll be nice to be singing there again this Sunday.”

Although many on campus have been anxious to return to Dahlgren, David Gregory (COL ’10), who serves at the 11:15 p.m. Mass, celebrated by Fr. Thomas King, S.J., on Monday through Friday, said he enjoys the location change. “For the time being, we’re using Copley Crypt, which in my opinion, is a far more appropriate place to hold a Mass held after dark. The unexpected change in location has not affected the number of people who attend,” Gregory said.

For the last two weekends, Sunday Masses took place in the Intercultural Center Auditorium and at Holy Trinity Church on 36th Street.

Weekday Masses will continue to be held in Copley Crypt, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation will continue to be offered in the Wolfington Jesuit Residence at 9 p.m. on Mondays.