Chapel marks 20th anniversary

PARSIPPANY  The quiet of the Adoration Chapel at St. Peter the Apostle Parish here feels like a world away from the hustle and bustle of suburban life outside and away from daily troubles. Its rows of wooden pews welcome the dozens of adorers who visit throughout the day to pray before the Blessed Sacrament on the altar. They sit or kneel with hands folded or read prayers or Scripture in silence. One woman listens to recited prayers on her iPhone through earbud headphones.

People come to the Adoration Chapel — from once or several times a day to once a week — to bask in its prayerful silence and peace in the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, as worshippers have done for the past 20 years. Adorers sign up for specific hours or stop in during the day to visit the chapel, which is housed in the room that once served as the chapel of the former convent building across the parking lot from the church. The Morris County parish sits at the busy intersection between Route 46 and Baldwin Road.

“The Adoration Chapel is a beautiful place to come and be with Jesus. How powerful it is to come before him and open your heart to him. My faith is stronger and I know him better because of the time I spend with him,” said Kim Arminio, a St. Peter’s parishioner. She had suggested the establishment of the chapel more than two decades ago after she experienced the peace of Jesus through prayer, following the death of her father. “Jesus is here for everyone,” she said.

On Sunday, June 23, St. Peter’s will mark the 20th anniversary of the Adoration Chapel during its annual procession for the Feast of Corpus Christi after the noon Mass. It starts at the church, moves to the stone grotto in honor of Our Lady of Fatima then back to the church. Msgr. Herbert Tillyer, who recently retired as St. Peter’s pastor, helped establish the chapel in 1999. Father David Pickens succeeded him as St. Peter’s pastor on June 13.

In the chapel’s sacred silence, adorers sit or kneel in prayer in the rows of pews before the Blessed Sacrament, housed in monstrance on the altar. Light streams in from three stained-glass windows that flank one wall of the chapel and bare the images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Theresa. One faithful visitor has been Vincenza Minerva, who walked from her home on Knoll Road to the chapel at 3 a.m. for 14 years until 2015, when heart problems stopped her from making the journey. Once there, she stayed with Jesus until the 6:45 a.m. Mass.

“I was never afraid. I had my rosary in my hand all the way and Padre Pio protected me,” Minerva, 89, said about her former early morning pilgrimages. She spoke during an interview for a recent edition of a quarterly newsletter that promotes the Adoration Chapel and the practice of Eucharistic Adoration. Today, she lives with her daughter, Josephine, and son, Ralph. Josephine takes her to the chapel each day. “I thank Jesus for everything. I can say anything to him — about myself, my family or whatever else is on my mind. He understands everything. He helps me all the time. Jesus speaks back in different ways. Sometimes he gives me a thought,” she said.

The Adoration Chapel “is the only place you can go to and be quiet with the Lord. There’s something special about it that makes me feel happy,” Minerva said.

The vestibule that leads to the chapel displays a painting of Jesus and a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Adorers sign in as they walk into the chapel. For 20 years, Arminio has coordinated the schedule for the chapel. Outside the entrance, a sign announces “Adoration Chapel,” while a row of smaller signs reserve spaces in the parking lot in front for worshippers. Visitors also come from nearby parishes, such as St. Ann’s and St. Christopher’s, also in Parsippany, and St. Pius X, Montville, said Arminio, a married mother of three.

Arminio’s idea for the Adoration Chapel originally was born of tragedy, when her father died suddenly of a heart attack. She started to pray harder than she had ever prayed. After a few weeks, she woke up one morning “as if a switch was flipped” and “all of my pain went away and I knew that my dad was OK.” Arminio also recounts a miraculous moment, when she was inspired to visit St. Peter’s at night to pray in front of the tabernacle. As she prayed, a woman entered the church, walked up to the tabernacle beside her and said, “He’s OK.”

Afterward, Arminio brought up the idea of instituting Adoration at St. Peter’s to Msgr. Tillyer, who consulted the parish staff and a local priest from a religious order and concluded, “Let’s do it!” The parish encouraged its faithful to sign up for Adoration — which received an outpouring of support — while it also converted the chapel in the former convent, which had closed two years before, into the Adoration Chapel, the priest said.

“The Adoration Chapel has fulfilled a beautiful purpose — enabling people to be face-to-face with Jesus. It’s a humbling and peaceful experience to be with the Lord. It’s a gift from God,” said Msgr. Tillyer. From time to time, priests, who celebrate Mass here, use their homilies to invite people to visit the Adoration Chapel. He also praised Arminio’s efforts in coordinating the chapel over the past two decades. Msgr. Tillyer now lives in the convent building with Msgr. Christopher DiLella, another retired priest.

In the chapel, the faithful can find copies of the newsletter, which includes the testimonials of adorers; teachings about Adoration from the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” popes and saints; and stories about Eucharistic miracles. Designing those newsletters has been Armie Lee, a graphic artist and a faithful adorer.

“I tell God everything — even things I don’t tell anyone else. I strive for a personal relationship with God, who I have learned is my best friend. I pray for courage and ask him to tell me where he wants me to go,” Lee said.

Arminio invites anyone to visit the Adoration Chapel at St. Peter the Apostle. To sign up for a visit or for information, call her at (973) 886-6334.