The transformation of an aged, dark chapel at St. Anthony of Padua Parish to a gold-laden new one was about much more than completing some overdue renovations.
For pastor Father Justin Huang, the makeover is part of a concerted effort to change the heart of a community.
“The goal is everyone has a Eucharistic heart, and that’s a heart that recognizes Jesus present in the Eucharist and desires to spend time with him and share their joys and sorrows with him.”
He guessed as many as 300 people flooded into the renovated adoration chapel, now brightly lit and decorated with handmade work by artisans in Spain, when Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, came to bless it on opening day June 30.
Guests removed their shoes to enter the carpeted room, a design feature their pastor intentionally chose for the sacred space. “God said to Moses in Exodus: ‘take the sandals off your feet, for you are standing on holy ground.’ We have decided to go that route. At a spiritual level, we are encountering God like Moses at the burning bush, but at a physical level, when you take your shoes off, you’re coming home.”
Father Huang hopes people entering the chapel will feel at home and welcome to “sit at the Lord’s feet.”
While belief in the Eucharist as the body and blood of Christ is a fundamental tenet of Catholicism, Father Huang said not every Catholic has a “Eucharistic heart” or truly understands the gravity of this belief. To aid them along, he has preached on the subject for six months and offered a Eucharistic miracles exhibit for his parishioners on the same weekend the adoration chapel opened.
He hopes educating parishioners about the Eucharist and encouraging them to spend more time with Jesus in the chapel will help transform the hearts of those in his community.
“We’re trying to make a huge cultural shift,” he said. “I’ve given so many homilies on the benefits of adoration, how it changes your soul, how it produces vocations, how you find peace and direction in your life.”
He has challenged all 1,068 of his parishioners to commit to 15 minutes of prayer before the Eucharist (in the chapel, or elsewhere) once a week. So far, 230 people have signed up.
Catherine Kriekenbeek-Lee, parish activities coordinator, is thrilled with the new chapel.
“It’s much more conducive to adoring and praying,” she said. The chapel was previously a sacristy, a small room where vestments were kept and priests and altar servers could prepare for Mass. It was turned into an adoration chapel by then-pastor Father Ron Thompson around the early 1990s.
Parishioners were grateful for the chapel, but Kriekenbeek-Lee said the room was dark, didn’t have air conditioning, and slowly became outdated. The chapel became filled with mismatched seating, statues, and various items that didn’t seem to have an obvious, united purpose. It was only open four days a week.
Now, the chapel is brightly lit, with large windows and better lighting, and is more comfortable to spend time in. Parishioners can sign up to pray for a 15-minute slot online, and lawn signs inviting neighbours to visit the new space have been up for about a month.
“Our vision is to put the Eucharist in the centre of our community,” she said. “We really mean it. We really want people to put Jesus at the centre of their lives.”
The adoration chapel is now open every day from 6 a.m. to midnight, but Father Huang plans to put some additional security in place to keep it open 24-7. Located just off Highway 99 near the airport and close to the Marine Drive Skytrain station, he said the chapel is fairly easy to access and central for anyone travelling in the city of Vancouver.
“The whole diocese is invited,” Father Huang said. “If we got all 83,000 people (who attend Mass) in the diocese to spend 15 minutes, it would change the diocese.”
Those interested in praying at the adoration chapel are invited to phone the parish office for the access code.
