New Adoration Chapel Designs

  • Thread starter Thread starter demerzel85
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

demerzel85

Guest
With the construction of a new Parish Hall, the Building Committee of my Parish has just asked Parishioners to submit suggestions of how the new Adoration Room should look like.

Personally I was thinking of submitting something more like an Adoration Chapel (complete with small alter and tabernacle). Something out of the Apocalypse according to St John, I think would be extremely beautiful. Angels & Saints adoring the Lamb of God.

Thought? Suggestions?
 
Make it simple. I guess what is important is the monstrance. I prefer less images so that eyes will be focused on the blessed sacrament… A lving flame is a must… Dim light with light focusing the Blessed Sacrament…
 
Personally, I thought it would be a good idea to have a simple carvings of an angel in humble adoration of the Blessed Sacrament when the ‘doors’ of the tabernacle are open. Above the tabernacle would be a sizable crucifix.

The tabernacle itself would be large enough to accommodate the monstrance, and would be on a simple stone altar. The front of the altar would be carved with “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the Sins of the World”. At the lower portion would be an image of a Lamb bound and ready to be sacrificed.

Would it be too elaborate?
 
demerzel85 said:
With the construction of a new Parish Hall, the Building Committee of my Parish has just asked Parishioners to submit suggestions of how the new Adoration Room should look like.

Personally I was thinking of submitting something more like an Adoration Chapel (complete with small alter and tabernacle). Something out of the Apocalypse according to St John, I think would be extremely beautiful. Angels & Saints adoring the Lamb of God.

Thought? Suggestions?
Click to expand...
The adoration Chapel sounds good, i would suggest the altar being against the wall with an ornate tabernacle.

Also, there is nothing wrong with the chapel itself being ornate, think about it, it is a resing place for Our Lord himself, he is our King, he deserves as much beauty as we could possibly offer.

Make sure certain Modernists in your parish dont get a hold of the project, if they do, there is no telling what monstrosity they will come up with. Remember, traiditional architecture is timeless.

Pax tecum!
 
CatholicNick said:
Make sure certain Modernists in your parish dont get a hold of the project, if they do, there is no telling what monstrosity they will come up with. Remember, traiditional architecture is timeless.
Click to expand...
This actually raises an interesting question. While I’m the first to agree that I have a preference for traditional architecture, the Catholic Church has always embraced new and trendsetting architecture. Remember, Gothic and Baroque were both radical at one time! Much modern church architecture is bland and not very inspiring, but surely there are those occasional architects that create modern churches that are indeed wonderful. The still incomplete Sagrada Familia in Barcelona could stand as testament to this. So, my question is, can anyone cite some examples, or better yet, post some links to pictures, of beautiful, inspiring, modernist churches?
 
Rolltide said:
This actually raises an interesting question. While I’m the first to agree that I have a preference for traditional architecture, the Catholic Church has always embraced new and trendsetting architecture. Remember, Gothic and Baroque were both radical at one time! Much modern church architecture is bland and not very inspiring, but surely there are those occasional architects that create modern churches that are indeed wonderful. The still incomplete Sagrada Familia in Barcelona could stand as testament to this. So, my question is, can anyone cite some examples, or better yet, post some links to pictures, of beautiful, inspiring, modernist churches?
Click to expand...
The Church Building itself of my Parish was built just after VCII, but since where I am is a good distance away from the chaos that erupted, things were still quite shielded for a time. Internally we still have a huge and proper crucifix, the tabernacle is smack in the centre, the chair of the presider is way off to the side and there still is a side altar. And now with our new air-con units installed, the incense used just lingers and moves with the air currents. We still have our communion rails and was about the last Parish in the Diocese to stop using it.

Externally is a bit of a different story. Gone is the Gothic and Baroque style. In comes the Old Testament imagery of the tent where the ark of the covenent was ‘stored’ before the Temple was built. And well its a National Landmark.
 
CatholicNick said:
The adoration Chapel sounds good, i would suggest the altar being against the wall with an ornate tabernacle.
Click to expand...
Yep the altar against the wall is exactly what I have in mind 🙂 Yet I was thinking of bringing tradition yet keeping it simple.

Another thought I have is having the Pangue Lingua engraved on the door, and when you enter you look straight at the Tantum Ergo.
 
Obviously, if the chapel will also be used for daily/intimate Masses, there are certain requirements that must be followed and they drive the process. However, if it to be only an Adoration Room, simplicity is acceptable with certain minimum requirements including:

Place to properly display the Eucharist. This can be a table for a Monstrance or Tabernacle. I know of several that have Tabernacles that have little doors that open and close such that the person can open the doors that display the Eucharist when they are there and close them upon leaving to facilitate sporadic/non-perpetual adoration.

A candle that gives notice of the presence of the Eucharist in the room. If you have the “doored Tabernacle”, you should have additional candles that are lit prior to opening the doors and extinguished after closing the doors.

Appropriate kneelers for the worshippers.

If the room is small and intimate, IMHO there should be minimal subordinate decorations as in Sacred Art or statues of the saints or Blessed Mother. I don’t know how appropriate it would be for people to come to the room for a Marian devotion when they ahve the ability to expose Christ.
 
peteandsue.force9.co.uk/images/barn.jpg

If you look at the picture on the right in the above link, this is the Blessed Sacrament chapel in the Cathedral i go to. Origionally it was just a side chapel i believe, however, when they wreckovated the place in the 70’s, and destoryed the high Altar, the tabernacle was moved into the chapel. The chapel has always been ornate and beautifully decorated like that, its the only thing the wreckovators didnt touch. Thank God.

This is the kind of thing i was trying to suggest.
 
Orionthehunter said:
Obviously, if the chapel will also be used for daily/intimate Masses, there are certain requirements that must be followed and they drive the process. However, if it to be only an Adoration Room, simplicity is acceptable with certain minimum requirements including:

Place to properly display the Eucharist. This can be a table for a Monstrance or Tabernacle. I know of several that have Tabernacles that have little doors that open and close such that the person can open the doors that display the Eucharist when they are there and close them upon leaving to facilitate sporadic/non-perpetual adoration.

A candle that gives notice of the presence of the Eucharist in the room. If you have the “doored Tabernacle”, you should have additional candles that are lit prior to opening the doors and extinguished after closing the doors.

Appropriate kneelers for the worshippers.

If the room is small and intimate, IMHO there should be minimal subordinate decorations as in Sacred Art or statues of the saints or Blessed Mother. I don’t know how appropriate it would be for people to come to the room for a Marian devotion when they ahve the ability to expose Christ.
Click to expand...
In the old adoration room there was only a single kneeler that was hardly used. The floor was carpeted however and cushions were in abundance.

As daily Mass is celebrated at the side altar of the Church, but it may get used for smaller gatherings.

Hmm…I was thinking of just having 3 icons hung on the wall at the rear. That of Blessed Damien of Molokia, one of the BVM and that of Blessed Estaqui van Lieshout. (My parish is run by SSCC Priests).
 
demerzel85 said:
Personally, I thought it would be a good idea to have a simple carvings of an angel in humble adoration of the Blessed Sacrament when the ‘doors’ of the tabernacle are open. Above the tabernacle would be a sizable crucifix.

The tabernacle itself would be large enough to accommodate the monstrance, and would be on a simple stone altar. The front of the altar would be carved with “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the Sins of the World”. At the lower portion would be an image of a Lamb bound and ready to be sacrificed.

Would it be too elaborate?
Click to expand...
I like that description. Sounds amazing!
 
demerzel85 said:
Beautiful! Yet I think there would be problems to push something like that through because most people in my parish are rather poor and opulence is an issue that can get pretty sensitive.
Click to expand...
I’ve been in a couple of beautiful, but not as beautiful as Nick’s, chapels in Oregon (St. Francis in Sherwood and St. Joseph in Salem). No pictures of St. Francis’ chapel, but here’s a link to St. Joseph stjosephchurch.com/ - just scroll down a little bit. They have stained glass and a small table with the monstrance. St. Francis has a small alter for the monstrance with the tabernacle behind it. Both have pews with kneelers and a bookshelf in the back corner with reading material for contemplation. I used to like to stay for an hour, pray the rosary, read, etc.

I think you are on the right track. I don’t know how necessary it is in your parish’s design, but most of the Adoration Chapels I have visited have some sort of security, usually a lockbox for a key or a lock requiring a security code. This is obviously to prevent some hateful person from abusing our Lord. It’s not foolproof, but at least it gives some protection.

I can remember the night of crisis when I sought out an Adoration Chapel at 2AM and found the lockbox… I tried several combinations, and it was…BVM. I’m sure she helped me figure that out.

God bless,

Robert
 
http://www.dioceseofmonterey.org/observer/jul06/St Paul the Apostle.jpg
This is what Eucharistic Adoration looks like in a very progressive diocese. I think it looks wonderful – the focus is on Jesus Christ as it should be.

The ostensorium is a four-piece silver set consisting of two flanking candleholders, the tabor and the monstrance itself. The candleholders are in the form of 6-winged seraph angels. Three more seraphim kneel in homage around the Lamb of God, centered on the tabor. The Passover Lamb rests on a book, the inspired word of God, with seven seals representing the sacraments as avenues of God’s grace in the world.
 
Father and I started our Adoration Society 8 years ago. We were going to hold it in church every Thursday because we did not have space for a chapel.

Holy Spirit moment!!! We did/do have a space at the entrance to church, which was wide open and bare except for a beautiful carved relief of the Last Supper. Father loved the idea when I pointed it out to him. He had the space separated with glass doors. We can and do have the chapel open every day and it has been a real blessing. Sometimes the Lord provides the space in unexpected places. The space used to be used for Baptisms when the church was built back in the 70’s. 🙂
 
YachtsMan said:
This is what Eucharistic Adoration looks like in a very progressive diocese. I think it looks wonderful – the focus is on Jesus Christ as it should be.
Click to expand...
I actually find it hilarious when Catholics especially say that the focus should be on Jesus Christ. It is from the Church that we know of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God. Personally, I just find it utterly silly to seperated Jesus and the Church. The two are intrinsically linked to one another and cannot be seperated. One would not be presenting the full truth in just stating the the ‘focus should be on Jesus’. It is out of love or rather charity that the whole truth is to be presented.

And well, the Adoration Chapel I go to regularly (since it is near my Uni) is very totally bare. There just is a black stone mount and some step. The monstrance is on top of the mount and encased in glass. I don’t think it even meets the requirements of it being a Chapel at all.
 
demerzel85 said:
The general concept I have would be from here…

http://www.visitationparish.org/photos/vppPAC1.jpg

Minus the status of the BVM at the front and replace it with an icon hanging at the back. Minus the pews and the statues. Add a stone altar flushed to the wall.
Click to expand...
I like this one, but being the daughter of a keen woodworker I have my biases in the direction of wood 😉

As you said, minus the statues and with an icon of some sort (possibly minus the slightly distracting Crucifix as well) it would be lovely.
 
wonderful thread! our parish has been open for perpetual adoraion for nearly 5 years. Her is a great link on preparing the physical chapel space from the Real Presence Assn manualon beginning adoration - step by step! so full of information. see section 4.

here is a link to a slide show of pictues from the opening procession to our little simple chapel with a tabernacle on the wall.
 
Our chapel has 6 candles as do many chapels we’ve seen. does anyone know if there are guidelines about candles in an adoration chapel with permanent exposition? we’re talking about going to only two candles.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top