May 31, 2024 // Diocese
Perpetual Adoration Makes Christ Constantly Available
Even as the moonlight casts shadows of steeples across the parking lots of two parishes in Fort Wayne, Catholics continuously flock to the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrances of these adoration chapels.
St. Vincent de Paul Parish’s chapel, the Oratory of St. Mary Magdalene, opened in 2021, and St. Jude Parish’s chapel will mark its upcoming 40th anniversary with major renovations to a space that has seen very few updates since its inception in October of 1985.
Photos by Joshua Schipper
The perpetual adoration chapel at St. Jude Church in Fort Wayne will soon undergo a renovation.
William Heyer Architect st jude
Monsignor Robert Schulte, Pastor of St. Jude in Fort Wayne, said that a major donation will allow St. Jude to begin these renovations at the end of May, necessary after 39 years of continued use and sanitizer-damaged pews from the pandemic.
Despite this period of construction, perpetual adoration at St. Jude continues. Amy Delaney, who heads the Perpetual Adoration Committee at the parish, emphasized the importance of persisting with perpetual adoration during the renovations because the purpose of the chapel is to promote perpetual adoration regardless of inconvenient circumstances.
Delaney, whose committee is responsible for finding adorers to commit to a combined 336 hours every week, pointed to a nearby parish conference room that adorers will use until renovations are completed.
Joshua Schipper
William Heyer Architect st jude
She reflected on the impact that the nearly four decades of perpetual adoration has had in the Catholic community outside of St. Jude, saying that many priests who have been ordained in the diocese have prayed in the chapel as they discerned their vocation. She also mentioned that adorers come from numerous neighboring parishes to worship and take advantage of this this gift that the parish provides to the area. On top of that, the chapel’s close proximity to Parkview Randallia Hospital across the street has often given a place of solace to those caring for hospitalized loved ones.
The chapel at St. Jude has marked several memorable events over the years, including an apostolic blessing from Pope St. John Paul II and a written letter from St. Mother Teresa offering her “whole-hearted support and encouragement” of the chapel’s mission.
The constant battle in maintaining a perpetual adoration chapel is finding enough committed adorers to keep watch with Christ. Oftentimes, adorers will have changes in their lives that prevent them from keeping their commitment, and in many cases, older adorers who take on multiple hours in their retirement pass away, leaving behind early morning hours that can be hard to fill.
The struggle to fill hours is something that is well-understood by both perpetual adoration chapels in Fort Wayne. Jessica Hayes, who coordinates adoration at the Oratory of St. Mary Magdalene on the campus of St. Vincent de Paul in Fort Wayne, said that a hesitancy toward commitment drives a lot of initial issues in recruiting new adorers, as well as what she described as a “difficulty with silence.”
The Oratory of St. Mary Magdalene, located on the campus of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Fort Wayne, opened in 2021.
To get over the hurdle of hesitancy toward committing to a weekly hour, Delaney recommends simply popping in as a visitor for five to 15 minutes at a time to see what works. Becoming a substitute, she said, is also a very low-commitment, low-pressure way to encounter perpetual adoration, grow in the devotion, and benefit the longevity of the chapel. Delaney said having available substitutes ensures that, even when committed adorers need to miss an hour, someone is always keeping watch. Substitutes will receive notifications that they are needed, but they can choose to accept or decline requests, something she said helps introduce people to perpetual adoration without the added pressure of a weekly commitment.
For those encountering adoration for the first time, Hayes suggested a number of ways to ease nerves and make the time more fruitful.
“They can take spiritual reading, or there’s Scripture,” Hayes told Today’s Catholic. “I always have a Gospel reflection and meditation written up for people to pick up on their way in from last Sunday’s Gospel, if they wish. … I had suggestions of different things that they could do – praying lectio divina, or meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, and just some resources for basic prayer along with books for their spiritual reading.”
Outside of structured reading and prayer, Hayes said, people can encounter the Lord in adoration by simply being there in the quiet and making “whatever comes to their mind and heart their prayer and their offering in that time.”
New adorers and substitutes can find more information and sign up via links on the parishes’ websites at
saintv.org/adoration and
stjudeadorationchapel.com.
CORPUS CHRISTI SUNDAY
On Sunday, June 2, the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, also known as Corpus Christi Sunday. On this feast day, the faithful are called to honor the Real Presence of Christ – body, blood, soul, and divinity – in the Eucharist.
On this solemnity in 2022, Pope Francis spoke of the importance of being nourished by the Eucharist. He said: “Instituted during the Last Supper, the Eucharist was like the destination of a journey in which Jesus had prefigured it through several signs, above all the multiplication of the loaves. … Jesus takes care of the huge crowd that had followed Him to listen to His word and to be freed from various evils. He blesses five loaves and two fish, breaks them, the disciples distribute them, and ‘they all ate and were satisfied’ (Lk 9:17), the Gospel says. In the Eucharist, everyone can experience this loving and concrete attention of the Lord. Those who receive the body and blood of Christ with faith not only eat but are satisfied. To eat and to be satisfied: these are two basic necessities that are fulfilled in the Eucharist. … For in the warmth of His presence, our lives change. Without Him, everything would truly be grey. Adoring the body and blood of Christ, let us ask Him with our heart: ‘Lord, give me the daily bread to go forward, Lord, satisfy me with your presence!’”
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