Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Today we have celebrated our final mass in our wonderful historic chapel at St. Joseph's
Hospital.
The chapel was built in 1915, and we will be closing it for about 2 1/2 years, until
2015, because of the renovation we are doing around the chapel. It's very important that
we preserve this historic, sacred space and make sure that it is well looked after during
renovation, so we will be closing it and creating temporary space for a quiet time for our staff
and patients.
This chapel, I think, is a testimony to remain focused on our mission. People came here,
not only patients and their familities, but administrators, doctors, nurses to be quiet.
To turn to God. To re-focus on what their mission was about.
As we preserve our sacred space, we as your blessing, Lord, for those involved with all
faces of this construction. Hold them in your care as they carry out their creative work.
We pray to the Lord. Lord hear our prayer.
The chapel was filled with people, and I could just tell the memories of people who came
to the chapel - either patients and their families to pray in the chapel, or the staff
here at the hospital... and what the chapel really meant for our health care facility
- it's really the heart and centre of it. And to celebrate God's blessings for us in
that chapel was a wonderful occasion for us today. And now we're looking at just a temporary
closure, and we're looking forward to the completion of the renovations and returning
to the chapel and being able to celebrate our faith there and have it as a prayer centre
as it has been for so many years. I'm very pleased to be here and extend my blessings
to everyone.
When I was here at the nurses' residence, a number of years ago, I came here to the
chapel every morning - 6 o'clock - and from there we'd go for breakfast and be on duty
at 7:30. My years spent here at St. Joseph's were awesome.
Probably about 30-35 years ago... and when I first came we lived in the hospital, there
were 35 (I think) of the Sisters living in hospital. Bishop Fabbro mentioned about the
patients and the clients and the staff liking it, but we were there every day... and I sure
did a lot of praying in that chapel. It has many, many memories for me, and that is so
important - it was so important to us as Sisters living and working here, but it also was a
place that we went out to patients and we prayed about the patients. I was so glad to
be here. It was wonderful.
The chapel at St. Joseph's served a critical role in the life of this organization. For
patients, for care providers, family members it was a place of respite... it was a place
to go to and reflect. For the future it will continue to play a critical role. It is the
heart of the organization and a fundamental symbol of our values and our mission. And
we look forward to the day that we open in this new place, with new programs and differenty
organized programs and an opportunity to create a whole new future for St. Joseph's.