By Cathy Rossi
For The Dialog
Travelers to Delaware beaches this summer will find a new place for adoration and prayer at a small, simple and welcoming chapel at St. Ann Parish in Bethany Beach.
The chapel is a work of love and devotion by parishioners and pastor, Father John Klevence, KHS, and offers a sacred place for personal prayer time with Jesus ever-present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
“It’s going to be a refuge of quiet, peace and solitude, in the hectic pace of summer and, I think, a place where you can find some centeredness in the Lord,” said Father Klevence. “We invite anyone to come in and take a few moments. They don’t have to stay for a day or a half-day or an hour. If they have five minutes, that’s a wonderful five minutes gifted to spend with Christ.”
The chapel has been on the drawing board for two years, after parishioner Belkis Stallings approached Father Klevence with the request following her trip to Medjugorje.
Dozens of parishioners have donated sacred items, including two antique pieces of stained-glass. The stained-glass on the chapel entry door features a monstrance and came from the parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Minersville, Pa., where Klevence’s uncle, Msgr. Casimir Klevence, was a priest for almost 40 years. “It’s meaningful to me that those windows are here. To me, it’s church history, Lithuanian history and family history.”
The stained-glass window of St. Ann, the patron of mothers and grandmothers, is also significant to the family who donated it in memory of their mother, Barbara J. Niedbalski.
“Our mother always prompted her children and grandchildren to wave to the statue of St. Ann, or Annie, as she would lovingly say, whenever they drove past the church in the summer,” said Cathy Rossi, who along with her sister, Patti Humphries, also donated the altar crucifix in memory of their father and brother. “To have a window that memorializes our mother and honors St. Ann is incredibly profound. And to know that our mother, father and brother will be always prayed for is deeply valued.”
“Whenever people pray in the chapel, all those whose names are there will be remembered. That’s the best gift we can give our loved ones, remembering them in our prayers,” said Father Klevence.
Bishop William Koenig officially blessed the chapel on April 29 saying, “We go to church and certainly our prayer as a community is most important, but just to sit in the presence of our Lord and be able to know that he is with us – to console us, strengthen us, provide for us – is a wonderful opportunity.”
The chapel is named in memory of Blessed Michael McGivney, who founded the Knights of Columbus. Knights of St. Ann Parish generously contributed to construction of the chapel.
This is the second adoration chapel near the beaches, including St. Jude’s in Lewes, and brings the number of adoration chapels in the diocese to four at a time when the church is encouraging parishes to offer Eucharistic Adoration during this Jubilee Year of Hope. St. Ann in Wilmington, Holy Cross in Dover and St. Jude’s also have adoration chapels. For the jubilee year, the bishop designated as jubilee sites Cathedral of St. Peter, St. Christopher in Chester, Md., and St. Francis de Sales in Salisbury, Md.
Parishioner Sylvie Doyle, who has signed up to be a regular adorer says, “I am grateful for the chapel as I am able to talk to God without any judgment.”
“A lot of people are going around looking for Jesus,” said Associate Pastor Father Joseph Dovari. “I am sure they can find him here and then the graces and consolation.”
“Parishes that have adoration chapels also tend to do well with vocations to the priesthood and religious life,” said Father Klevence. “I view the chapel as a powerhouse of prayer in our parish and in our diocese. Besides the people I baptize, this is the best thing I have ever done. I think God wanted me to do this.”
Chapel opens to the public May 12 and hours are 7 a.m to 8 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The author was one of the contributors in memory of her mother.
