I too have gone in to a church in which I could not find the tabernacle, at all. I found that the beautiful church had been remodeled in a most horrendous way in which the old altar area is now the Adoration room, with a wall that was decorated with what looked like a connected screen with donation plaques on it, and was just to the left of where we were sitting,and I hadn’t realized it, with an entrance I couldn’t find until Mass was over. It was NOT conspicuous.

There was also an outside entrance. The new altar was on what was the side of the church and the old entrance was just an empty area over to the right. A whole new entrance had been created on the other wall with a big foyer for “fellowship” I guess.

In the church we regularly attended while living in that area for a year or so, there was a tabernacle behind the altar but separated by a wooden screen like effect with a gauzy curtain. Not bad, really because the whole church was so beautiful. You could see the tabernacle behind the screen and there was a red light up above. They also had an Adoration chapel to the left of the front of the church which was lovely and I enjoyed going there. Since then they have built a totally separate one with a big tall ugly, IMHO, bell tower. I hope they haven’t removed the tabernacle from the altar area but I doubt we will be going back there. Anyway, is there some rule that says that the tabernacle can be in the church…conspicuous as ours is in our new church…yet also in an Adoration chapel? I’ve wondered about it since it has happened several times that the Blessed Sacrament has had to be moved to the cry room if there’s funeral on the all day Adoration times. Our Pastor does not want a Chapel but still…why not both?

(

to Jean) M.A.