Show GalleryHIGH POINT — More than 400 people of all ages filled the chapel and the main gathering space inside Pennybyrn’s healthcare building June 2 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
The continuing care retirement community, run by the Sisters of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God, has hosted Perpetual Adoration in its chapel since 1994. Adorers, friends and supporters attended the Mass in Maryfield Chapel, offered by chaplain Father Jim Solari.
After Mass, a Eucharistic procession took place around the Maryfield Garden Circle, followed by enthronement of the monstrance on the altar and Benediction by Father Solari.
Two deacons and seven St. Joseph College Seminary students assisted at Mass and participated in leading the outdoor Eucharistic procession.
Serving as honor guard for Mass and the procession were members from several area Knights of Columbus councils, including Bishop Hafey Council 4507 and Christ the King Council 14767 in High Point and Our Lady’s Council 9249 in Thomasville.
The celebration was “extremely meaningful to me,” said Anne Carr, a member of Our Lady of the Highways Church in Thomasville and one of the first to sign on as an adorer in the 24-7 prayer effort. “It was splendid.”
The Maryfield Chapel “is a treasure for us every day. It is a place of such peace,” Carr added.
Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament began in the Maryfield Chapel on June 5, 1994, the Feast of Corpus Christi. Following the celebration of Holy Mass at 3 p.m. with Bishop William G. Curlin of the Diocese of Charlotte as principal celebrant and seven priests from local parishes as concelebrants, there was a procession of the Blessed Sacrament around the Rose Garden that concluded with Benediction in the Chapel at 4 p.m. After Benediction, Our Lord was enthroned in the monstrance and placed on the altar – thus beginning Eucharistic Adoration at Maryfield Chapel that continues unbroken to this day.
“Now looking back at our brave beginnings, we understand how the Holy Spirit guided our lay leaders to bring the awareness of this treasure of the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament into the lives of so many people in the Triad,” noted Mission leader Sister Lucy Hennessy, SMG.
Eucharistic Adoration originated in the area with Joe Lanham, a parishioner at Our Lady of the Highways Church. His then-pastor, Father John Murphy, OSFS, gave his blessing to the project and suggested Dick Kellenbarger, a fellow parishioner, help chair the committee to launch the effort.
Adoration started in Thomasville with 12 hours of Adoration on the fourth Saturday of each month. The parish’s Knights of Columbus and their families rallied behind the idea, and it wasn’t long before 100 people had signed up.
Thanks to encouragement from then-Bishop John Donoghue, local priests and lay leaders, and the intervention of Divine Providence, people wanted to expand Eucharistic Adoration to 24 hours – and the chapel of Pennybyrn was the perfect home for it.
By 1994, when Bishop Curlin came to Pennybyrn, more than 400 people had signed up to participate at least one hour per week in Eucharistic devotion.
In addition to Carr, Eileen Rohan and Colette Woelfel of Our Lady of Grace Church in Greensboro, and Edna Corrigan of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in High Point have been instrumental in the prayer effort from the early years, Sister Lucy noted.
“These leaders, in whatever capacity, worked long and hard for months and weeks before the chapel was opened to make sure there was a least one adorer in front of Our Lord every single hour of the day and night,” she said.
“But the real heroes continue to be the adorers, who sign up to spend one hour once a week to be with the Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament.”
The constant flow of traffic to and from the chapel, she added, demonstrates that more and more people have been drawn to visit the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and that Perpetual Adoration has fostered a deeper prayer life for those who participate.
The day’s celebration, which concluded with a picnic on the lawn under sunny skies, was joyful and prayerful, Sister Lucy said. “It was a wonderful sight to see many families come together from various parishes to attend Mass and the picnic.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, Editor. Pennybyrn contributed.
Father Jim Solari, chaplain, elevates the Host during a Mass June 2 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Perpetual Adoration at Maryfield Chapel.. Photos by Patricia L. Guilfoyle | Catholic News Herald