Adoration chapels help parishes to ‘flourish: A place for peace and quiet, amid worldy chaos

By Christina Galeone
CFP CORRESPONDENT

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, who’s better known as Padre Pio, proclaimed, “A thousand years of enjoying human glory is not worth even an hour spent sweetly communing with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”
Thankfully, by offering adoration at least once a week, several local churches have been giving people the chance to discover the meaning behind the saint’s words. But a few churches offer something else as well. They have chapels dedicated to the life-changing devotion.
The “most peaceful place on Earth.” That’s how Sue Belfield, the adoration coordinator at St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish in Clinton, describes adoration chapels. Our Lady of Guadalupe Regional Adoration Chapel is located in St. John’s lower church and was established April 15, 1996 by the mothers’ group at St. John the Evangelist Church – which became St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish after a 2010 merger of Clinton churches. It began with the support of Father Thomas Walsh, the pastor at that time, along with the participation of the former Clinton churches, Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Jasna Gora, and other area parishes. It was coordinated by Debra Goodsell until Mrs. Belfield accepted the role in 2000.  
The chapel, that also welcomes people from outside the area, is open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday. Mrs. Belfield, who’s also an hourly coordinator, oversees 11 other hourly coordinators to ensure that two people are scheduled each hour with substitutes available. “It’s just wonderful, and you feel close to our Lord,” Mrs. Belfield shared. “It’s a way to honor and worship him for the incredible sacrifice he made.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the church’s pastor, Father James Mazzone, recruited volunteers to help him build a temporary porch and a baldacchino – a standalone canopy over an altar – that allowed people to participate in adoration from their cars. “He made sure someone was always in attendance, even if it had to be himself,” Mrs. Belfield said, noting that the baldacchino was built less than a month after the pandemic-related church closures. She later added, “Thank God for Father Jim. It was almost uninterrupted.”The adorers were grateful as well. Mrs. Belfield described them as “beautiful, kind, loving, devout” people. “I thought I was doing God a favor as the adoration coordinator,” Mrs. Belfield admitted with a chuckle. “He turns around and outdoes it by giving me all these wonderful people as extended family.”
At Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Webster, Barbara Avery – the coordinator along with Jeanne Guerin for the parish’s Blessed Sacrament Adoration Chapel – feels similarly about the adorers there. She relishes the chance to hear their stories. She became good friends with one who found solace there while facing a serious disease a serious disease. Another gentleman with Parkinson’s disease devotes several hours each week to visiting the Blessed Sacrament. His friends bring him to the chapel. There’s also a young couple who participate in adoration with their baby.
Even though Mrs. Avery affirmed that adoring Jesus is the purpose of adoration, she believes that people sharing their experiences and encouraging others in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament is fruitful. “If we’re still doing God’s work, we’re still there for somebody,” she said. “I’ve gotten to know so many people over the years.”
The chapel opened 27 years ago in a former Sisters of Saint Anne convent with the participation of other Webster churches. Although adorers need to ring the bell to be let in at night, the chapel’s open 24 hours a day every day except for Holy Thursday through the Easter Vigil. At least one adorer is scheduled for every hour, and there’s a substitute list. Many of the adorers are from other parishes.
“It’s been a wonderful existence; a lot of good things happen,” Mrs. Avery remarked. She added, “You receive blessings. There’s no other way to say it.”
Mrs. Avery, who enjoys praying the rosary, praying the Seven Sisters Apostolate prayers, and reading before the Blessed Sacrament, participates in adoration three times a week. “God is with us; God is really with us,” she shared. She noted, “You’re in communion with Jesus. It takes you away from everything that clutters up your mind.”
At Annunciation Parish in Gardner, Maryann Lindgren experienced that serenity as well. “I love the quiet time – the peace, the quiet, the conversations with Jesus,” Ms. Lindgren, a parishioner who initiated the return of an adoration chapel, reflected. “It’s like a break from the world.”
When she joined the parish a few years ago, she joined the pastoral council, and she asked if she could start an adoration chapel, since the previous one had closed. But since the parish center at the parish’s Holy Rosary Church – where the chapel will be located – had to be renovated, the main renovations had to be completed before work could begin on restoring the chapel.
“But we are just so fortunate to have had a priest who was able to set all the groundwork, which was Father Steve [Lundrigan],” Ms. Lindgren said. “And now we have Father Victor [Sierra], who is very interested in having eucharistic adoration, and Father Thiago [Ibiapina], who has been with us for a year now. Both are very interested in…and very supportive of it. We really hope to have it open soon.”
With hopes of having the chapel open Wednesday through Friday, Ms. Lindgren believes that adoration chapels help parishes to flourish, and she knows that adoration changes lives. “It’s going to be beautiful,” she beamed. She later added, “It’s very important to give him the praise and honor he deserves.”