Spiritual comfort provided…Around the Clock

Published 12:00 am Saturday, June 10, 2000

LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / June 10, 2000

AMA – Inspired by a 1988 trip to Medjugorje, site of hundreds of alleged visitations by the Virgin Mary, a small, determined group of parishioners at St. Mark Catholic Church maintain a tiny chapel of perpetual adorationnext to the church.

It is organized well in advance, with people assigned specific hours during which to come to the chapel, offer prayers and say the rosary, day after day, 24 hours a day.

“I’m usually here 3 a.m. on Thursday and on Sunday mornings,” said RandyCaire, who is the overall administrator, assisted by four others who divide each day into six-hour spans. These include his wife, Debbie, formerschool superintendent Stanley Berard, retired teacher Mary Robert and St.

Anthony parishioner Rosemary Bession.

Altogether, the Perpetual Adoration Society of St. Charles Parish includesapproximately 200 persons, some with regularly assigned times and others who fill in as needed.

Most are Ama residents and parishioners at St. Mark, but others come fromWaggaman, Edgard, Paradis, Luling and Destrehan.

It’s a commitment and a responsibility, Caire said, but it’s never a burden.

The tiny chapel itself was once a tool shed which has been completely renovated and air-conditioned. Inside is an altar and five stations wherepeople can pray. Candles always illuminate the interior of the chapel.”It’s always been a task to fill the hours,” Caire added, but he doesn’t mind, seeing the chore as a blessing in his life.

The chapel’s origins began with a visit by the Caires and Sister Lilla Marie Lottinger to Medjugorje in 1988. Nowadays, Sister Lilla is in Chicago,helping to organize more such chapels.

“We approached several church parishes and Father Donald Cote was the first to embrace the idea,” Caire added.

As an experiment, to test the waters of the idea, a 24-hour vigil was held in early December 1988. That was successful, so the 1989 Lenten seasonwas the beginning of the perpetual adoration, opening Feb. 8, 1989.On June 4, 1989, nearly four months into the chapel’s operation, Rev. Cotedied. His successor, the Rev. John Perino, likewise embraced the idea andactively promotes it.

“This is certainly something we don’t want to lose,” Perino said. “Laypeople have really been the bulwark in this.”Perino added the chapel fills a special need which goes far beyond the St.

Mark community.

“We have some people who, for whatever reason, feel apart from the church and they come here and it’s a tremendous blessing for them.”Indeed, people from far and wide are drawn to the chapel. On thisparticular day, Heather Faucheux (a native Canadian now residing in Luling) and Kathy Bonnet, a Waggaman resident, knelt together in silent prayer, Bonnet’s fingers slipping along her rosary beads.

Mary Robert, who lives a block from the chapel and fills in on emergency basis besides her usual 3 a.m. each Friday, related how a Virginiabusinessman who comes to New Orleans frequently will make unannounced stops. Also, a Vietnamese man whom nobody knows will stop by on anirregular basis.

“He started out staying only a couple of minutes but it’s longer and longer each time and he’s now staying a half-hour,” she said.

People have always felt safe in the chapel. No money is ever kept there,and a local deputy makes stops as well. “We’ve been very fortunate,”Perino said.

A recruitment effort is under way as well, to find more adults to fill the long hours, especially those early-morning times. Some people have todrop out, due to illness or relocation, and a few have died. A flyer isregularly included in St. Mark bulletins which ask for a one-hourcommitment each week. For information about pledging this commitment,call Caire at 785-2032 or Robert at 431-8345.

With this effort, the perpetual adoration will be maintained.

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