Eucharistic adoration is steadily on the rise in Sydney in more ways than one.
The same day 15,000 Catholics gathered to adore their Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in Martin Place at last Sunday’s Walk with Christ procession, the city also tripled the number of perpetual adoration chapels available to parishioners.
Both St Jerome’s in Punchbowl and St Joseph’s in Moorebank blessed and opened their new chapels on 2 June, giving parishioners a space to watch and pray with Christ at all times.
Fr Joseph Gedeon, who holds daily adoration at St Jerome’s, told The Catholic Weekly in his eight years at the parish he has found a steadily growing devotion to the Eucharist among his parishioners.
“I like the church to be always available. Eucharistic adoration is something I’m very fond of myself,” he said.
“When I was living in Italy, I learnt there was nothing better than Eucharistic adoration and Marian devotion in the parish. A church can thrive on those two things.”
The new space is part of an existing chapel in the church, which used to be the old entrance but had been closed off for years.
“It’s also making something new of an existing part of the parish,” he said.
“People are having a greater appreciation of what the Eucharist is—more and more they realise that it is the body and blood of our Lord.
“The more priests that are aware of the importance of adoration, the more it will grow.”
St Joseph’s marked their new chapel with their own Eucharistic procession on Corpus Christi, before two busloads of parishioners joined fellow Catholics in the city.
During the Mass preceding the procession, Somascan priest Fr Chris de Sousa CRS highlighted the importance of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June.
He invited parishioners to imitate his humility by praying at the newly available chapels.
“Jesus not only humbly gave his body by shedding his blood for us on the cross—he humbled himself further by giving himself to us under the appearances of bread and wine, continues to dwell among us and to nourish our souls through the most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, fulfilling his promise to be with us until the end of time,” Fr Chris said during his homily.
“Today, let’s thank him for this great gift from the bottom of our hearts and for the privilege to have Our Lord available to us in the adoration chapel any time of the day and night going forward for our community and Southwestern Sydney.
“Let’s promise him that from now on we will make better use of it.”
St Joseph’s perpetual adoration chapel was realised through the assistance of the Somascan parish community and the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney.
St Jerome’s and St Joseph’s now join St Joachim’s in Lidcombe as churches in Sydney with a dedicated place for perpetual adoration.