Faithful from 25 parishes committed to perpetual Eucharistic Adoration starting Dec. 8
By ROB HERBST
The Catholic Week
MOBILE — After nearly a year of planning and praying, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at St. Ignatius Parish will be opening for perpetual Eucharistic Adoration.
Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration will begin on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Sunday, Dec. 8. A procession from St. Ignatius Catholic Church to the chapel located behind the rectory will take place following the 10 a.m. Mass
It will be open 24/7 for Adoration, with the exception of 9-11 a.m. on Sundays when the Society of St. Gregory the Great celebrates its Mass.
Many in the Mobile area are invested in the chapel. According to Cathi deVeer, one of the coordinators, faithful from 25 Mobile Deanery parishes have committed time to Adoration.
More than 300 people have signed up for at least one hour a week. About 100 people have signed up as substitute adorers, she said.
“I think the blessings are just going to flow,” deVeer said. “People are giddy. I don’t know what to expect, I just hope it’s blessings for everyone who signed up.”
With Mobile getting set to join Baldwin County and Montgomery in having a perpetual Eucharistic Adoration chapel, Ines Mersch said “the word ‘explosion’ comes to mind. An explosion of grace.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if more people come to the faith,” said Mersch, who is also a coordinator. “I think it will bring families together, I think it will heal relationships. Statistically it’s been proven that life improves where there is perpetual adoration.”
Talk of perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in the community picked up during an exploratory meeting in February.
There are 168 hours to fill and according to Mersch, 168 people attended the meeting in February.
“Well, we had 167, but one woman was pregnant, so we counted her twice.” Mersch said with a grin.
To continue recruiting efforts, Mersch said they made their presence at events throughout the area. “We attended every function we could think of it. Every fish fry that any parish was having (we tried to be there.)”
Mersch said they also received a big boost from those at the successful Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Christ the King Parish in Daphne.
Mersch sought guidance from Christ the King PEA Chapel coordinator Missy Schmidt and also received plenty of prayers.
“She started getting the chapel to pray for us. She had a sign ‘please start your Adoration hour with a Hail Mary for a chapel across the bay to open.’ ” Mersch said. “Then we called all the convents in the area or emailed them. Every convent in Alabama … we just started asking for prayers.”
Now that prayers have been answered, Mersch said it’s special that perpetual Eucharistic Adoration will begin on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
“I feel like Mary has been driving the whole thing,” she said. ”
— For more information on the chapel or registering for a time slot, visit mobile.weadorehim.com
Originally published in The Catholic Week, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Mobile