As the foster father of Christ, St. Joseph regularly spent time Adoring the Lord. Faithful are invited to do likewise in a chapel at Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church bearing his name.
The St. Joseph Adoration Chapel inside St. Paul Church opened earlier this fall to parishioners, visitors and anyone seeking a quiet space to come and adore Christ in the Eucharist.
With the addition of the chapel, Eucharistic exposition at St. Paul was expanded from one to five days a week. Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the sacred space from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day.
As of Dec. 3, 2,400 holy hours had been prayed in the chapel since its opening less than three months earlier. The number did not include individuals who spent time in Adoration in the chapel without signing up for a holy hour.
An estimated 40 to 50 individuals daily sign up for an hour of Adoration in the chapel, which seats 22 people. Several stop by for five or 10 minutes before or after work, or while dropping their children off at St. Paul School.
“It’s been thousands of people in and out,” the parish’s parochial vicar, Father Kevin Girardi, said.
“That speaks to the fact that people here at St. Paul’s are hungry for the Eucharist, they’re hungry for Adoration, they’re hungry to spend time before the Lord. There’s not many places where you could go from one day of Adoration to five immediately.”
Father Jonathan Wilson, who was installed as the church’s pastor in 2019, emphasized Adoration as being central to the parish. The pious practice grew during the past six years of his pastorate, ultimately presenting a need for extended Adoration hours.
Expanding time for Eucharistic exposition created an additional need.
If Adoration were to increase from one day per week – offered Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the church – to multiple times weekly, a space would be needed for adorers.
Planning for a chapel was set in motion last spring. Construction in the lower level of the church began in August.
“Within about a month, it went from a normal meeting room into a chapel,” Father Girardi remarked.
An opening Mass was celebrated by Father Wilson on Wednesday, Sept. 10 in the chapel. The pastor blessed and consecrated the altar and tabernacle in the space.
A member of the parish handcrafted linens and a veil for the tabernacle. Another parishioner donated time and talent to construct the altar.
Statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph are stationed on each side. Adorers often place flowers at their feet.
The chapel’s name was inspired by the foster father of Christ and universal patron of the Church.
“This parish has a wonderful devotion to Our Lady and the rosary,” Father Girardi explained. “Filling out the (Holy) Family and dedicating this to St. Joseph – especially that masculine heart that he has to be able to form a lot of the fathers here – I think it’s something that’s really important to entrust.”
As the Church looks ahead to the New Year, the parish will urge individuals – from St. Paul and the surrounding area – to commit to spend an hour weekly in the chapel in 2026.
Father Girardi spoke to many benefits from spending time with Jesus in the Eucharist that people experience.
“It’s the one hour of true peace, of quiet, of serenity with the Lord that they don’t get anywhere else,” he reflected. “It mysteriously becomes the center of their week, the center of their hearts – the center of their life.”