Bishop blesses, dedicates St. Joseph Pilgrim Chapel on Stirling shrine’s campus

STIRLING  On May 1, the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney blessed and dedicated the recently completed St. Joseph Pilgrim Chapel on the grounds of the Shrine of St. Joseph here, calling it a “beautiful place of prayer.”

Located next to the Shrine’s Upper Chapel, the Pilgrim Chapel now provides a focal point of devotion for prayer to Jesus through St. Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, and the contemplation of his role in salvation history. Finished recently after nearly a year of delays due to a shortage of building materials, the 1,500-square-foot wooden chapel features as its centerpiece a large luminescent “Life of St. Joseph” mosaic of St. Joseph holding the Christ Child.

On a warm spring afternoon, lay members of the vibrant community, including a large Spanish-speaking population, crowded around the entrance to the Pilgrim Chapel for the ceremony. Those attending were joined by the many priests and brothers of the Mission­ary Servants of the Most Holy Trin­i­ty, who operate the Shrine. Also present were several religious sisters of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Totowa, who gifted the mosaic; Franciscan priests, who originally owned it; and officials of the Township of Stirling.

“It’s a joy to be with you today in this beautiful place in the corner — on the frontier — of the Dio­cese,” said Bishop Sweeney, referring to the Shrine’s bucolic setting at the southernmost point of the Diocese in Morris County. The Bishop visited here on Sept. 15, 2020 to help break ground on the long-anticipated Pilgrim Chapel. He thanked God and the Trini­tarians for the success of the project. “We need places where we can stop and pray. We need places like the Pilgrim Chapel, where two or more are gathered in his name to encounter God and discern, where the Holy Spirit is leading us,” he said.

After his remarks, Bishop Sweeney blessed the Pilgrim Chapel first by sprinkling the outside with Holy Water, followed by the inside of the building. It was designed with a rare reciprocal-frame roof that consists of 16 large self-supporting wood beams that require no center support — one of only a few existing in the U.S.

In a circular devotional space inside the chapel, a semi-circular wall holds several staggered rows of votive candles to help illuminate the 10-foot-tall, six-foot-wide mosaic, which include smaller depictions of pivotal moments in St. Joseph’s life. The art was designed and created by artist Leopold Forstner in 1924 as the altarpiece of the main altar in St. Joseph Seraphic Semin­ary in Callicoon, N.Y, which closed in 1972. Installation of the mosaic in the Pilgrim Chapel marks the first time that it has been displayed publicly at the shrine.

The design of the Pilgrim Chapel also features a semi-circle of benches that face the mosaic so pilgrims can pray and meditate. A skylight and windows in the peaked roof let in light. Pilgrims enter the chapel through glass doors and a small foyer. Framing the center portrait are four depictions from St. Joseph’s life: his marriage to Mary, the birth of Jesus, Jesus in the temple, and the death of St. Joseph. These depictions also correspond to the four pillars of the Shrine’s ministry: spiritual and apostolic formation, peace and human rights, worship and recovery, health and healing.

Trinitarian Father Dennis Berry, former director of the Shrine, who gave his approval for the project to begin, returned to Stirling to speak at the dedication. He called the Pilgrim Chapel “a gift from God for all the people of God, not only for those at the Shrine.” He spoke about the life of St. Joseph, who found his vocation as husband of the Blessed Mother and father of Jesus by praying to discern God’s will, remaining aware of his circumstances and listening to his heart and finally coming to clarity, deciding, and acting.

“The message of the Pilgrim Chapel is to remind us of this holy wisdom, simplicity, prayer, and humility that can transform hearts and, as the Scripture says, make all things new again. We are part of a world-transforming event here today. Let us open the doors, invite God in, and let God create a new heaven and new earth,” said Father Berry, who retired from active ministry last year after having served as the Shrine’s director since 2016.

The “Life of St. Joseph” mosaic traveled great distances. In the 1970s, the Franciscans of the Holy Name Province, who operated St. Joseph Seraphic Seminary, willed the piece to the Little Sisters of the Poor in Totowa, who in turn contacted the Missionary Servants, when they could not find a suitable use for it. In 1982, Trinitarian Brother Martin Pacholek drove to Totowa to transport the one-ton piece of art to the Shrine where it has been in a storage facility for 40 years.

It was Brother Martin’s dream to build a place of honor for St. Joseph and the mosaic, Trinitarian Father Michael Barth, the Shrine’s general custodian, told those who attended the dedication ceremony. He thanked the team of people at the shrine, who got plans for the project started, and all those who were involved in its design and construction.

At the time of the groundbreaking, Father Berry said the Pilgrim Chapel “will be a beautiful, unique and holy place to encourage the thousands of pilgrims that visit the Shrine annually to pray for peace and contemplate Joseph’s role in the Church and God’s people. It also will provide an indispensable opportunity for evangelization in our time.” Father Thomas Judge founded the Shrine in 1924.

In his welcome remarks at the dedication, Trinitarian Father Seraphim Molina, the Shrine’s current director, invited people to come back again to the Shrine and Pilgrim Chapel, which are open every day.

“This is the place, where God has decided to linger and wait for you to spend even just a little time in the pilgrimage of life to enjoy his presence and his leisure. He wants to fill you not only with his grace, blessings, and beauty, but also with his very self. Then, he will send you forth back into the world. There, you will carry him to do good and be good,” Father Seraphim said.