New Center for Worship

Bishop dedicates Mother Teresa of Calcutta Chapel at St. Paul Church

CLIFTON  Up until recently, one of the large rooms in the parish offices of St. Paul Parish here served as a storage area for items and supplies that could not find a home elsewhere on campus. But earlier this month, the faith community reclaimed the space’s rightful legacy as a center for worship and prayer by opening it as the new Mother Teresa of Calcutta Chapel, which Bishop Serratelli dedicated after Mass in the parish church on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. And just 10 days after the chapel’s blessing, came the news Dec. 18 that the Pope will canonize Mother Teresa during the Year of Mercy [see story below].

A walk up a few steps and opening a door on one side of St. Paul’s parish offices leads visitors into the new 80-seat chapel. The space has been furnished with new or refurbished items: an altar, a tabernacle, a lectern, lighting, tile flooring, Stations of the Cross, sound system and paint in blue and white: the colors of the habits and robes worn by the Missionary Sisters of Charity, which Blessed Mother Teresa founded. The extensive renovations helped St. Paul’s reclaim the spirituality of the space, part of which once served as a chapel for sisters who served the former parish school. At that time, the building housed the convent, said Father Leonardo Jaramillo, St. Paul’s pastor.

St. Paul’s also reclaimed part of its rich history by outfitting the new chapel with five stained-glass windows from the original church in 1914 that Father Jaramillo had rescued from the basement of the current church next door. The five historic windows — including one of Blessed Mother Teresa — were refurbished; rededicated to honor five parishioners, who contributed to the chapel project; and installed in the rear of the space. Those windows join several other ornate stained-glass windows that were already in the chapel, Father Jaramillo said.

“It looks gorgeous. It’s important to have a nice place to come and worship God. It brings us closer together as a family. It’s a place that gently welcomes people to practice their faith,” said Father Jaramillo, who noted that he devised the idea of creating a new chapel — which is significantly larger than the sisters’ predecessor — when he arrived at St. Paul’s four years ago.

The Mother Teresa of Calcutta Chapel is part of more extensive renovations to the facilities at St. Paul’s. After the 8 a.m. Mass on Dec. 8, Bishop Serratelli also blessed and dedicated a new elevator in the church, which Father Jaramillo expects to be completed next year. The project also involved more improvements to the parish offices, include new title in the hallway; renovations to the pastor’s and secretary’s offices and meeting area; the building of a kitchenette; and making space for youth ministry, the pastor said.

Father Jaramillo celebrated the first Mass in the chapel at 8 a.m. the next day. It also will be used for a Mother of Perpetual Help devotion, Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament on first Fridays; and eventually a weekly Spanish-language Mass. St. Paul’s plans to hold many religious services in the chapel, so it can save on the cost of utilities by not having to power up the entire church building, Father Jaramillo said.

Several months ago, Father Jaramillo and Henry Murphy, a parishioner, had undertaken the redesign of the chapel. Raphael Ramirez, a plumber and a parishioner, installed the tile, while Murphy crafted or refurbished the rustic-looking wood furnishings, including a shelf for the tabernacle, lectern and frames for the canvas images of the Stations of the Cross.

The chapel sports new light- and dark-grey tile, movable seats with small racks on the back for missals and the original tin ceiling that workers preserved. The space includes many statues, including one to Our Lady of Mount Carmel — mounted on a large ornate handmade base — that the Peruvian community here carries during its July 16 procession for her feast day, Father Jaramillo said.

“May all who come here come to know one another and give witness to our faith in Christ, our Lord,” Bishop Serratelli said during his blessing of the chapel. “We ask you to bless this chapel and all who come here. May all know the presence of Christ, experience the joy of his friendship and grow in his love.”

Then Father Jaramillo, intoned a prayer “for our parish, St. Paul, and especially for this beautiful place, dedicated to God, that God may continue to bless our work”; “that leaders of the parish with the chapel, deepen their participation in parish life”; and “for those who will use this chapel, that they may grow in faith and love for God and the Church.”

Father Jaramillo called Blessed Mother Teresa an appropriate patron for the chapel, because “she was a humble person who supported and helped the poor people and welcomed people to the Catholic faith.” The pastor added, “We hope to follow what she did.”

“The chapel is beautiful and very uplifting. It’s a blessing to the St. Paul’s,” said parishioner Suzanne Marzouka after the dedication.