Self Guided Tour
Listed below are just a few of the places that students had the opportunity to share with their families during Family Weekend 2024. Some places were open during certain events on the Family Weekend schedule. Other spaces were available to visit in the style of an “open house” from 2 - 4pm on Saturday, September 21 during the time for self-guided tours. Updated information for Family Weekend 2025 will be added on this webpage by July, 2025. Read information below about some places that we would like to highlight and view the campus map here.
“This was a great opportunity for our extended family to visit our daughter and experience the campus through her eyes. Every student/faculty/staff we met were so helpful and friendly.” - Comment from 2024 Family Weekend Participant on Evaluation
Joseph J. Gentile Arena
Visit the Gentile Arena during the Welcome Event on Saturday at Noon
Joseph J. Gentile Arena has served as the home to Loyola’s basketball programs since the 1996-97 season, and in the summer of 2011 received a major facelift that has transformed it into one of the most intimate, fan-friendly arenas in the Missouri Valley Conference and in the Midwest. One of the top facilities of its size in the Midwest, Joseph J. Gentile Arena has provided the Loyola University Chicago men’s and women’s basketball teams with a tremendous home-court advantage for a quarter of a century. The 2020-21 season was the 25th year Loyola has called Gentile Arena home. The current arena can seat ~5,000 for most home basketball and volleyball contests.
Gentile Arena was the site of one of the greatest moments in Loyola Athletics history as the men’s volleyball team hosted the NCAA Championship and went on to capture the first of its back-to-back national championships with a four-set victory over Stanford in the NCAA championship match on May 3, 2014. Loyola has also celebrated three Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championships in men’s basketball on its home floor. The 45,000-square-foot facility is used not only for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball, but also for Loyola special events, as well as by the community in the Rogers Park-Edgewater neighborhood. Graduation, which used to be held downtown in Medinah Temple, also is held in Gentile Arena. More information can be found here:
https://loyolaramblers.com/facilities/gentile-arena/4
https://www.luc.edu/studentcomplex/gentilearena/
Wolf & Kettle Statue
Visit the Wolf and Kettle Statue any time you are on campus
Many years ago, in the Basque country of Spain, there lived a prosperous and generous family who, after feeding family, retainers, and soldiers, had enough to feed even the wild animals. To commemorate this act of generosity, a carving of two wolves eating at a cauldron was placed over the lintel of the family’s home in Loyola, Spain. Many centuries later, St. Ignatius of Loyola would be born into this family and would go on to establish the Jesuit order and change the world. Today, we celebrate this act of generosity, which has become the heraldic shield of the Loyola family, the symbol of this University, and a fitting tribute to our donors, whose generosity makes your education possible at Loyola.
Wolf and Kettle Day 2012 featured the unveiling of Los Lobos de Loyola, a statue designed by Mexican artist Pancho Cardenas. This will be the third statue, second in the United States, of Cardenas' to be installed on a university campus. University of San Francisco and Universidad Iberoamericana have similar sculptures. Today, the statue stands guard in front of the Norville Athletics Center and Gentile Arena, and the cauldron is lit up in flames for Rambler home games. The Los Lobos de Loyola statue is a constant reminder for students, faculty, staff and alumni to continue to celebrate the generosity of our Loyola family. More information can be found here: https://www.luc.edu/wolf,kettle/loslobosdeloyolastatue/
Palm Court
Palm Court is on the 4th floor of the Mundelein Center. You can visit this space with your student from 2 - 4pm on Saturday, September 30. This is a student study space, so please enjoy the view quietly.
One of Loyola's newest venues on the Lake Shore Campus, this beautiful atrium event space boasts stunning lake views and an abundance of natural light. Coupled with a wrap-around outdoor terrace, Palm Court is one of Loyola's most popular venues for smaller wedding receptions, networking events, and private functions. Palm Court can accommodate up to 80 guests for a seated event or 160 theatre-style. More information can be found here:
https://www.luc.edu/conference/campusvenues/lakeshorecampus/mundeleincenterforfineandperformingarts/palmcourt/
The School of Environmental Sustainability (SES)
Visit SES during open house hours on Saturday, September 30 from 2 – 4 pm.
The School of Environmental Sustainability (SES) includes classrooms, faculty offices, research and teaching labs, a biodiesel lab, an urban agricultural greenhouse, a green café, and a LEED-certified residence hall. The building has state of the art sustainability features that allow SES to maximize our natural resources and find ways to divert, reuse and repurpose waste. Features of the building include a stormwater management system, a geothermal system, and green roofs. More information can be found here:
https://www.luc.edu/sustainability/
Information Commons
You can visit this space with your student from 2 - 4pm on Saturday, September 30.
The IC is the ideal place to learn, share, connect, create, and relax here on Loyola University Chicago's Lake Shore Campus. A joint project of the University Libraries and Information Technology Services, the Information Commons is founded on the philosophy of the three C's: Collaboration, Connectivity and Community. Thus, we offer spaces and technology for group study and team learning; high-speed Internet connectivity including wireless; and comfortable spaces for serious work, reading and relaxation. The beautiful building offers you stunning views as it overlooks Lake Michigan. For more info, check
https://www.luc.edu/ic/index.shtml
Madonna della Strada
Visit Madonna della Strada Chapel during Mass and/or the tour on Sunday
Madonna della Strada Chapel is Loyola University Chicago's main chapel. Unlike diocesan parishes, Madonna della Strada Chapel is operated and maintained by the University, and it functions as an apostolic outreach of the Jesuits on campus, serving a diverse and transient congregation. Like all other Catholic churches, the chapel must adhere to guidelines and policies for Roman Catholic spaces of worship and liturgical celebrations, which are promulgated by the Archdiocese of Chicago. In addition to liturgy, Madonna della Strada Chapel serves an educational purpose, giving students the opportunity to learn more about liturgy and train to be liturgical ministers. Madonna della Strada Chapel is generally open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
More information can be found here:
https://www.luc.edu/campusministry/sacramental_life/mds-chapel/index.shtml
Listed below are just a few of the places that students had the opportunity to share with their families during Family Weekend 2024. Some places were open during certain events on the Family Weekend schedule. Other spaces were available to visit in the style of an “open house” from 2 - 4pm on Saturday, September 21 during the time for self-guided tours. Updated information for Family Weekend 2025 will be added on this webpage by July, 2025. Read information below about some places that we would like to highlight and view the campus map here.
“This was a great opportunity for our extended family to visit our daughter and experience the campus through her eyes. Every student/faculty/staff we met were so helpful and friendly.” - Comment from 2024 Family Weekend Participant on Evaluation