Lord, It Is Good for Us To Be Here: The Role of Eucharistic Adoration Chapels

by Daniel P. DeGreve, appearing in Volume 49

We must always have courage, and if some spiritual languor comes upon us, let us run to the feet of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and let us place ourselves in the midst of the heavenly perfumes, and we will undoubtedly regain our strength.

-Saint Padre Pio

Adoration of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is one of the most ancient and treasured customs of Catholic devotion, for adoration is a form of latria, the worship that is due God alone, and is a logical extension of the Catholic profession of Jesus’ real presence in the holy Eucharist. Chapels dedicated to the practice of Eucharistic adoration have been designed with an increasing urgency, particularly in parish churches.

The resolve to provide places with twenty-four-hour access for Eucharistic adoration, including perpetual adoration, has been encouraged by bishops and pastors, and taken up with tremendous commitment by lay parishioners. There is a pressing need to be near Jesus amid worldly strife, and Eucharistic adoration chapels, beautifully designed, accommodate this need in their connection to timeless practice and traditional architectural forms.

Unrestricted access to the Blessed Sacrament for personal prayer and devotion outside the celebration of holy Mass is an essential mark of the Catholic clerical and religious life. It has also been customary for the laity to make visits to the Blessed Sacrament in churches where the Eucharist is reserved, taking their place in the nave to pray before the tabernacle, pyx, or ambry located in the sanctuary, on or near the altar, or in chapels appointed for the purpose of reservation. Historically, and even today, many churches and chapels have been kept unlocked day and night while others have had a discrete door left unbolted to provide uninhibited access to the church interior for timely visits to the Blessed Sacrament. While the primary purpose of locking churches has been to preserve the Blessed Sacrament and the sacred furnishings from acts of desecration and theft, the design of Eucharistic adoration chapels with secured access has permitted the prayerful to visit the Blessed Sacrament at any time when churches are otherwise locked. Yet, not only for reasons of security and safety has the construction of Eucharistic adoration chapels burgeoned in recent decades, but especially because the laity have yearned for a more intimate sacred space and a closer physical proximity to the Eucharistic Lord.

A Brief History of Eucharistic Reservation and Devotion

The decrees of the First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) refer to the reservation of the Eucharist in churches for distribution as viaticum to the sick and dying. Earlier sources, such as Justin Martyr (100-165 AD), Saint Irenaeus (125-202 AD), Tertullian (155-220 AD), Saint Dionysios of Alexandria (c. 190-264 AD), and Saint Cyprian (200-285 AD), describe reservation not only for viaticum, but also for reverent consumption outside of Mass at home. Although the reservation of the Eucharist in private homes may have originated during periods of persecution, it seems to have continued afterwards, particularly among hermits, as related in letters by Saint Basil the Great and Saint Jerome. In his essay Bene et Firmiter (Sacred Architecture Issue 22), Father Cassian Folsom, OSB, writes that, while little information exists describing how and where the Blessed Sacrament was reserved in private homes or cells during the early centuries, surviving sources indicate that the Eucharist was wrapped in a piece of white linen, or placed in a special chest or container. Saint Ambrose (339-397 AD) mentions the faithful seeking to carry the Blessed Sacrament with them as a source of consolation during tribulating times and perilous journeys.

Although Saint Basil is said to have reserved a portion of the Eucharist in a hanging pyx made in the form of a golden dove that was suspended above the altar, the Eucharist seems to have been typically reserved in a separate chamber or pastoforion on the south side of the altar, known as a diaconicon in the Eastern churches and as a secretarium or secretum in the West, and what we may call a sacristy today. In both the East and the West, the deacon was typically given charge of the Eucharist, which was reserved in a locked chest called a conditorium.  Over the centuries, a variety of vessels for reserving the Blessed Sacrament outside the sacristy came into existence in response to Eucharistic theology, popular piety, and the increased appreciation for making a spiritual communion.

Eucharistic piety in late medieval northern Europe was architecturally palpable with the invention of the sacrament-tower and the hagioscope.  A sacrament-tower (or Sakramentshäuschen) is situated on the floor of the sanctuary, and usually takes the form of a tall stone, metal, or wooden structure with steps to enclose a tabernacle.

In some cases, however, the sacrament-tower had metal grates instead of a tabernacle with a door, so that the place of reservation functioned like a monstrance, combining de facto exposition with Eucharistic reservation. Meanwhile, the development of hagioscopes or squints, modest apertures in sanctuary walls, allowed the faithful to devoutly behold the elevation of the host and the chalice during Mass when they occupied parts of the church where views of the altar were otherwise obstructed.

During the middle and late sixteenth century, the controversies stirred by Protestantism were refuted with advances making Eucharistic reservation even more visible to the Catholic faithful. In Verona, Bishop Gian Matteo Giberti (1495-1543) mandated that the Blessed Sacrament be reserved in a tabernacle on the main altar in a permanent manner. In his cathedral church, Giberti commissioned the design of an Ionic Order templon around the choir to replace an earlier structure, for maximizing views of the high altar tabernacle while maintaining an appropriate enclosure for the canons of the cathedral chapter.

Giberti’s early reforms bore considerable influence on the extensive directives issued by Saint Charles Borromeo in his archdiocese of Milan and, from there, on the Rituale Romanum, wherein was recommended the Eucharist be reserved in a tabernacle situated on an altar.

The Rituale did not stipulate the main altar of a church as the only location for the tabernacle, but acknowledged that another altar may be more suitable given local circumstances. Locating the tabernacle on the main altar became known as the “Roman custom” during the Counter-Reformation, but the practice was not adopted in the patriarchal basilicas of Rome herself, where separate Blessed Sacrament chapels prevailed.

The Blessed Sacrament Chapel of Saint Peter’s Basilica combined the longstanding tradition of Eucharistic reservation in a separate chamber with the newer practice of providing the faithful access to the dedicated place of reservation. Eucharistic devotion during the Counter-Reformation was bolstered by the Rite of Exposition and Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament, a medieval practice codified in the eighteenth century by Popes Clement XII and Benedict XIV. In time, local traditions of reservation in the Latin Church eventually yielded to a universal acceptance of the “Roman custom,” whereby the tabernacle was engaged to a tiered system of gradines, or stepped ledges, situated behind the mensa of the main altar.

The celebration of Exposition and Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament, especially as part of the Quarant’Ore (Forty Hours) devotion, promoted the design of Benediction altars that incorporated a throne for the monstrance with the tabernacle, and which became a formulaic appointment in churches by the late nineteenth century. An original, modern amalgamation of the depository of Catholic architectural and artistic tradition can still be appreciated in the high altar of the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur in Paris by Paul Abadie, which is an inventive fusion of the prominent altar, tabernacle, reredos, and ciborium, rooted in medieval and post-Tridentine conventions and designed for perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Although the Liturgical Movement of the early and mid-twentieth century propelled an ontological and formal reassessment of altar and tabernacle design to reaffirm the essential purpose and shape of the altar, particularly with respect to the ’Benediction altars,’ the movement did not originally discourage Eucharistic reservation at the altar. Yet the ensuing theological, liturgical, architectural, and artistic paradigm shift spurred debate and resolution regarding the distinction between public worship and private devotion. Towards the end of Bene et Firmiter,  Father Folsom writes: “What was normative in the post-Tridentine period has been largely rejected in the post-Vatican II period. While there has been general consensus about where the tabernacle should not be (on the main altar), there has been little consensus about where it should be… The theological motivation was to restore emphasis on the altar and the Eucharistic action of the Mass, as opposed to the adoration and worship of the reserved Sacrament.”

The Emergence of Eucharistic Adoration Chapels

During the last fifty years, the practice of reserving the Eucharist in a chapel has been extended to numerous American cathedrals, basilicas, and parish churches.

Some reservation chapels have proven unsatisfactory in their lack of beauty, inadequate size and inconspicuousness, while other versions of this model have afforded an appropriate setting for the Blessed Sacrament. In the last twenty-five years, the placement of the tabernacle in the sanctuary, on a separate altar or pedestal throne, has been widely endorsed by bishops overseeing the construction of new churches or the renovation of existing churches.

While any chapel of the Blessed Sacrament should be designed to accommodate personal devotion when the church is open, many parishes and faith communities have found it desirable to have a chapel that communicates with or supplements the appointed place of reservation for unlimited access to the Eucharist, including for perpetual adoration, during which the faithful commit to spending at least one hour a week with Jesus, day or night, so that the Blessed Sacrament, typically exposed in a monstrance, is never left alone.

Although they may be the settings for public devotion, such as the Nine First Fridays Devotion, adoration chapels are set apart from the nave and sanctuary of a church and may even be separate from the church building itself. In addition to their association with parish churches, adoration chapels may also be part of college Newman centers, Catholic information centers, and retreat centers.

A Review of Several Eucharistic Adoration Chapels in the United States

No single approach to the design of a worthy Eucharistic adoration chapel exists, for the architectural and artistic expression of an adoration chapel may be attuned to various traditions of Catholic beauty.

However, care should be given to ensuring the full accessibility of chapel egress and seating for visitors of varied physical capabilities and eliminating any potential distractions originating from outside the chapel, so that the focus remains on Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for all souls who seek to spend time with him.

Bishop Gartland Eucharistic Adoration Chapel – Savannah, Georgia

Designed by Catholic architect Ephraim Francis Baldwin, the present Cathedral Church of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah was originally completed in 1876, reconstructed following a disastrous fire in 1898, and raised to the status of a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2020. The imposing Gothic Revival edifice has a spacious undercroft below the main level of the church that had been renovated as a parish hall in the middle of the last century with suspended plaster ceilings to accommodate mechanical equipment.

In 2020, the bishop and rector commissioned Savannah Catholic architect Christian Sottile to lead an expert team of artisans and craftspeople to transform the prosaic character of the undercroft into a series of spaces commensurate with the rib-vaulted architecture of the cathedral, including the enlargement and beautification of the existing Eucharistic adoration chapel, which has been renamed in honor of the first bishop of Savannah.

The Bishop Gartland Eucharistic Adoration Chapel features an intimately scaled space that can accommodate up to twenty people for daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament reserved in a tabernacle on a historic, Carrara marble altar. A wall mural, framed by scagliola plaster colonnettes, an archivolt, and a gilded hood molding, depicts against a simple geometric diaper pattern the dove of the Holy Spirit and angel figures in adoration. The mural is a window to the heavenly reality of encountering Christ sacramentally, cuing the visitor to join in worship.

Eucharistic Adoration Chapel – Walton, Kentucky

All Saints Church, designed by Duncan Stroik and opened in 2003, features a small and chastely appointed adoration chapel adjoining the larger, squared apse, where the gilded tabernacle is set within an arched aperture of the paneled wood apsidal wall.  The tabernacle has doors on both the sanctuary and the chapel sides. A depiction of the sacred host and chalice in relief embellishes the side of the tabernacle facing the chapel. Rich red draperies hung in the arched aperture embrace the tabernacle to provide a fitting visual and audible separation between the chapel and the church for daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

The Holy Face of Jesus Eucharistic Adoration Chapel – Palatine, Illinois

Serving a suburban parish at Saint Theresa Church since 2021, this Eucharistic adoration chapel, contiguous to the church interior, is somewhat larger than the previous examples and can accommodate up to seventy-seven people for daylong exposition and adoration during weekdays, as well as for private adoration of the reserved Sacrament at any other time, day or night, via an electronic keypad.

The chapel design, by architect Thomas Norman Rajkovich, is an erudite, modern emulation of Italian trabeated, Ionic architecture of the Cinquecento that eloquently converges on the Blessed Sacrament and the representation of Calvary and the Holy Trinity in the associated retable altarpiece beyond.

In the forced linear perspective established by the retable and its enclosing, concentric arches, inflected with skewed intradoses and subtle lighting, one participates in a room-wide sacra conversazione of both actual and implied architectonic elements bridging between the earthly and heavenly realms. It is meant to resonate with the beat of the enthroned heart, from which all creation flows and to which all sanctified creation returns.

The Latin inscriptions of the frieze and the English inscriptions of the aediculed tableaux throughout the chapel incorporate titles devoted to the Holy Face and the mystical contemplations of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux regarding the Eucharist.

Divine Mercy Adoration Chapel – Greenwich Village, New York

Constructed in the 1820s during the nascency of Greek Revival architecture in America, Saint Joseph Church boasts a 550-square-foot chapel in the adjacent parish office facility dedicated to perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

The Divine Mercy Adoration Chapel, which opened in 2023, accommodates up to twenty-one people, is equipped with camera surveillance, and features multi-factor authentication and biometrics to allow guests to obtain entry.

The parish is served by a community of Dominican friars who pray the Divine Office in the chapel daily, and for whom the choir stalls are provided.

Designed by architect Daniel A. Ezekiel Balan, the chapel is exquisitely finished with various species of marble, travertine, and a resplendent altar and reredos adorned with illuminated alabaster panels and a tabernacle frontal depicting a mosaic image of Divine Mercy.

When the sacred host is exposed in the monstrance, the host aligns with the circular tabernacle door that is centered on the depiction of Christ’s heart, joining the image and reality of Divine Mercy.

The superbly detailed Corinthian Order templon of stained maple is both a handsome window and a noble barrier, framing an earthly approach to the heavenly reality with its wrought ironwork and wooden arch spandrels.

Sacred Heart Eucharistic Adoration Chapel – Larchmont, New York

The Catholic community of Larchmont has maintained since 2013 a chapel for perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the Church of Saints John and Paul. Located in the former parish convent, this adoration chapel can accommodate up to forty-nine visitors via keypad access. The designer, Joel Pidel, was engaged to transform the banal 1970s chapel interior into an inspired space marked by the graceful restraint of gray-washed wood, white stuccoed walls, French limestone flooring, and translucent quarry glass windows. Brilliantly understated, the relative austerity of the chapel and the strategic modulation of daylight, vis-à-vis the lateral location of the life-sized crucifix and the axial location of the exposition triptych, quietly invites the visitor to adore the Sacred Heart visible behind the glass luna of the triptych.

Conclusion

Expressions of truth, goodness, and beauty are for all people of every capability and intellect. These adoration chapels were not designed merely as objects of admiration, but as scopes to see the divine source of this triad. As we witness to the sacred host, by which the transfigured LORD is presently veiled on earth, let us exclaim the words of our first pope when we visit an adoration chapel:  Lord, it is good for us to be here!