‘Presence of God’ makes adoration chapel beautiful

Amidst a landscape dominated by sprawling ranchland and vast Gulf waters, the cross perched upon the iconic blue dome of Our Lady of Corpus Christi draws an upward gaze of many a passerby. Not only does the chapel’s 75-foot high dome raise earthly eyes towards heaven, but upon entering the Spanish colonial-style church, the souls of the faithful are no doubt lifted before the presence of the perpetually adored Lord. The splendor and silence of the chapel’s high altar, which enthrones the monstrance, inspires all those who enter with the reverence due to a kingdom, not of this world.
 

The adoration chapel of Our Lady of Corpus Christi attracted a full house of worshipers to celebrate its 15th anniversary. SOLT priests joined Father James Stembler, Vicar General of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, in celebrating the Mass. Emily Priolo for South Texas Catholic

This year, the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) and the Diocese of Corpus Christi celebrated the 15th anniversary of the consecration of the Our Lady of Corpus Christi Perpetual Adoration Chapel with a commemorative Mass on Thursday, Feb. 1. Father James Stembler, the vicar general of the diocese, celebrated the Mass with six SOLT priests—Fathers Sam Medley, James Kelleher, Jerry Drolshagen, Juan Villagomez, Brady Williams and Michael Mary White—concelebrating with him.

On the Vigil of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Father Stembler echoed the message of the Gospel, saying, “This chapel has been a reminder that we are called to present ourselves to the Lord.” He further encouraged the faithful to present themselves before the Lord in adoration, no matter what was on their hearts, for “we can come to the Lord and bring him our troubles and cares, and know that someone is truly there with us, to comfort and guide us.”
 

Father James Stembler, Vicar General of the Diocese of Corpus Christi celebrated Mass to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Our Lady of Corpus Christi. Pictured, from left, are Father Juan Villagomez, SOLT, Deacon Wayne Liekting, SOLT, Father Stembler, Father James Kelleher, SOLT and Father Sam Medley, SOLT.   Emily Priolo for South Texas Catholic

The vision for the chapel came to Father Kelleher, at the time a young priest, in 1998. Inspired by the SOLT mission to “Make disciples of Jesus through Mary,” Father Kelleher envisioned a chapel dedicated to, and named after, the blessed mother, and would invite the faithful of southern Texas into its walls to perpetually adore Jesus. He prayed for the construction of such a world-class adoration chapel in Corpus Christi.

In the fall of 1998, Father Kelleher met a man in St. Louis, Missouri to whom he gave a Miraculous Medal and explained the work of SOLT in Corpus Christi. The following January, inspired by Pope John Paul II’s trip to Mexico, the man called Father Kelleher to ask more about the work that was being done in Corpus Christi. After Father Kelleher explained that he hoped to build a perpetual adoration chapel, the man asked him to accompany him to visit Mother Angelica’s Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Alabama.

That very weekend, Father Kelleher found himself in Alabama moving through the monastery with the man. While there, the man turned to Father Kelleher and told him that the Lord had given him the means to pay for the architectural construction of the adoration chapel, and he wished to donate the money anonymously to help fund the project. Thus the planning for the construction of the chapel of Our Lady of Corpus Christi began.

The organizing and designing of the chapel were formulated over the next several months, and the groundbreaking ceremony for the monumental chapel was held on Nov. 27, 2001, on the Feast of the Miraculous Medal.

Today, the Our Lady of Corpus Christi Perpetual Adoration Chapel is home to the spiritual lives of many Catholics in the Corpus Christi area, with at least 300 people per week coming to the chapel for holy hours.

“The adoration chapel is integral to my faith and daily life. It is a great place of prayer and contemplation,” said Mona Lisa Biberstein, an attendee at the anniversary Mass and the Retreat Facility Coordinator for the SOLTs.

Biberstein, who is a full lay member of SOLT, emphasizes that not only is the chapel a great place for an individual’s prayer life, but Our Lady of Corpus Christi is also the center of the many ministries provided by SOLT to the south Texas Catholics. The chapel, and SOLT campus surrounding it, host retreats for groups such as ACTS, Journey to Emmaus and Marriage Encounter, among many others.

In addition to hosting retreats for other groups, the community of SOLT holds many of their own retreats at Our Lady of Corpus Christi. Throughout the year, SOLT leads men and women weekend-long retreats focusing on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. At various times during the year, they also conduct specialty retreats focused on healing, Marian devotion and the divine mercy.

Chelsea Nye, a parishioner at St. Helena’s of the True Cross of Jesus in Corpus Christi, recently attended one of SOLT’s women’s spiritual exercise retreats.

“It was a remarkable experience,” she said. “There was such incredible healing and peace from the retreat, and that grace then flowed into my daily life and my interactions with my family.”

Nye smiles as she looked around the dining hall and said that while it is hard to make it to the chapel frequently with little children, “I will find any excuse to come out.”

Whether there is a prayerful weekend retreat being hosted on the campus or an anniversary Mass at the chapel, the mission of the adoration chapel at Our Lady of Corpus Christi, to make disciples of Jesus through Mary, has been brought to fruition. As the faithful sat under that Marian-blue dome celebrating the anniversary of the chapel’s consecration, Father Stembler reminded those present of the foundational truth at the core of Our Lady of Corpus Christi: “No one can deny this chapel is beautiful,” he said, “but what truly makes it beautiful is the presence of God.”

Following the anniversary Mass, the members of SOLT provided a dinner at the dining hall in their Kolbe Building, for all in attendance. The hall was filled with nearly 150 people, young and old, religious and lay, all together to celebrate and give thanks for the chapel.