In January 1943, four chaplains—Methodist minister Reverend George L. Fox, Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, Catholic priest Father John P. Washington, and Reformed Church in America minister Reverend Clark V. Poling—embarked on the U.S. Army Transport ship (USAT) Dorchester, which was transporting 902 soldiers to Great Britain via Greenland as part of Convoy SG-19. During the early morning hours of February 3, the vessel was torpedoed by the German submarine U-223 off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic. The Dorchester lost all power, and in the cold and dark, men scrambled for the lifeboats. The four chaplains organized the men as best they could, handing out life jackets from storage, encouraged the men with prayers, and tending wounded as best as was possible. When it became apparent that there were not enough life jackets, each of the chaplains took off his own life jacket and gave each to a young soldier. When the last of the undamaged lifeboats were away, the chaplains prayed with those left behind on the sinking ship. Less than thirty minutes after being hit, the Dorchester sank with the loss of 672 men, including the Four Chaplains. The survival of some 230 men was directly credited to the chaplains' actions. On December 19, 1944 each of the chaplains was posthumously awarded a purple heart and a distinguished service cross.

The Chapel of the Four Chaplains was dedicated on February 3, 1951, by President Harry S. Truman to honor these chaplains of different faiths in the basement of Grace Baptist Church at 1837 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In 1972, Grace Baptist Church moved to Blue Bell, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and sold their Broad Street building to Temple University two years later. Temple University eventually decided to renovate the building as the Temple Performing Arts Center.

In February 2001, the Chapel of the Four Chaplains moved to the former chapel at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.