The Pasquerilla Spiritual Center has hosted more than seven weddings in one day, is affiliated with 60 different religious organizations and, at 30,000 square feet, is the largest multi-faith complex in the country.
Despite this reputation, Robert Smith, director of the Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs, said the facility is underused.
"Most people think we're just that 'big church on campus,' " Smith said. "We don't want students to think that. We want them to feel welcome here."
The Catholic community at Penn State, at about 10,000 students, is the largest religious community, Smith said. Only a fourth of these students take advantage of the facility, he said.
Bridget Finnegan (junior-chemical engineering), president of the Newman Catholic Student Association, is a frequent user of the facility and does not understand why Pasquerilla is empty so often.
"The Meditation Chapel is my quiet place of refuge," Finnegan said.
Pasquerilla celebrates all faiths, and about 60 religious organizations use the facility, Smith said.
"No other space on campus is as diverse, and it helps bring such unique people together," said Heather Shadduck (senior-political science), who co-runs Pasquerilla's Student Advisory Board, an organization in which students of all faiths help with programming and organizing events at the center.
Shadduck said most students have a misconception about what the building can be used for and who can use it.
"Most people think it's just 'the church on campus' and don't realize that the atheists and agnostics are there, too," Shadduck said.
Pasquerilla has quiet areas for students to study, often with refreshments, and anyone can use the facility, even if they are not in a group or organization, Shadduck said.
Nathan McMillen (sophomore-civil engineering) said Pasquerilla's location does not do it justice. If it were more centrally located, like the HUB-Robeson Center, students would notice it and would be more inclined to check it out, he said.
"It's hard to get up on a Sunday morning and walk all the way over there," said Adam Conti (sophomore-environmental systems engineering), who lives in Pollock Halls.
Father Matthew Laffey, director of the Catholic Campus Ministry, agrees more students could use Pasquerilla, but he stressed involvement should be for the right reasons.
"There's a sense that we have to put more people in rooms," Laffey said. "But the center should be used for what it is for more fully -- our spiritual needs."
Of those who do take advantage of what Pasquerilla has to offer, some participate in Pasquerilla's interfaith dialogues, which are discussions about faith between students of different religions that take place several times during the school year, Smith said.
This type of discussion shows that communication among and respect for other faiths is possible, said Beth Bradley, assistant director of the Center for Ethics and Religious Affairs.
"I wish we could just spread this throughout our whole society," Bradley, Class of 1994, said.
The center also features an individual meditation room, which is frequently used by students of different faiths, Bradley said. If an individual or private group is in there, it is kept locked so the person or group is not bothered, she added.
Pasquerilla hosts a number of events throughout the year, including an annual Day of Remembrance for students who died the year before, Bradley said. She added the center also hosts speeches by influential religious leaders and hosts different organizations including the Rock Ethics Institute, the Music Department and many student groups, such as the Center for Women Students.
