Adoration Chapel Offers Peace

When the new St. John the Baptist Church in Zachary was dedicated in April 2017 parishioners were filled with “awe and wonder.” 

When Bishop Emeritus Robert W. Muench dedicated the church, he called it a “spectacular house of God.”

A gem in Zachary’s historic district that greets passers-by on Main Street with its neo-gothic architectural beauty, it would appear that it was time for the old church to “quietly retire” after years of being packed at Mass with worshippers, which necessitated the building of the new facility. Well done good and faithful servant.

But the parish school of religion team looked at the original church and had a heavenly vision for it by renovating part of it into an adoration chapel.

According to Suzanne Payne, former director of religious education who spearheaded the project, the renovations began when the PSR teachers wrote a proposal to pastor Father Jeff Bayhi to reutilize what had been the “overflow” portion of the old church as an adoration chapel. The proposal pointed out the area could be used by the parish school of religion and the entire parish.

With the support of the St. John community the chapel came to fruition. Through a lucky find at an antique show in Texas, one parishioner came across an approximately 400-year-old ornate tabernacle and stunning crucifix that are believed to have come from the same church in Spain.

Near the peak of the top of the tabernacle is an emblem of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Other featured items are the Stations of the Cross that come from a church now closed in Pennsylvania.

There was also the labor of love in transforming the space into a chapel, led by Don Metcalf and Austin Hollingsworth, both now deceased.

Father Bayhi dedicated the chapel, beginning with a eucharistic procession, at the beginning of Advent in 2017. 

Since then the church community has embraced the chapel. Outside is a sign greeting the chapel’s many visitors that says, “O, come let us adore him.”

Payne noted that people who feel they need to pray can access the chapel by a code that is obtained by contacting the parish office. 

“It’s amazing to see the droves of people who come by any time,” said Payne, who now works for the Office of Vocations for the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Additionally, on the third Monday of the month St. John comes together as a community in prayer during a 24-hour eucharistic adoration. Time slots are normally full.

Young moms, the elderly, teens and young adults, people facing a crisis or wanting simply to say “thank you” for special blessings come to spend quiet time before the Blessed Sacrament. 

Groups such as the Knights of Columbus, children in the parish school of religion and college students at Christ the King Church and Catholic Center at LSU on their “Awakening” retreats often visit. 

Many help provide candles and flowers and other trinkets that provide inspiration.

A group of young moms, who regularly come to the chapel and take the 9 a.m. hour on Monday during the 24-hour adoration, said the chapel is a place for them to pray together while teaching the children about “living the faith.”

“Having adoration means everything,” said Becca Shelden, whose children are Colette, 6; Peter, 4; and Joseph, 2. “We may not have perfect quiet but to come into the presence of Jesus in praise and supplication is important.”

Catherine Picou homeschools her five children: Alexis, 13; Jacob, 11; Leah, 9; Nicholas, 6; and Andrew, seven months. The adoration chapel reinforces her lessons that “the more time you spend with Jesus the more he is able to transform you.” 

She called the chapel “gorgeous, beautifully done.” 

But even more important than the history of the items found in the tabernacle is “how many people have been praying because of it.”

Paulina Hooper, whose sons are Camdon, 10 and Nathan, 8, receive “a lot of graces” coming together with the others in the chapel, and it refreshes her for the rest of the week.

“I feel that if you center your life around Christ everything will fall into place,” Hooper said.

Which is what Payne and her team of religious educators sought when establishing the chapel, to have the life of the St. John community focused on the Eucharist.

“It shows that Christ is the center of everything we do,” said Payne, emphasizing the chapel became a reality through the efforts of all.

“It was the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and convergence of people focusing on the desire to make adoration accessible for everyone,” said Payne.