New York City parish installs first-ever perpetual adoration chapel in Manhattan

By Joe Bukuras

Boston, Mass., Aug 1, 2023 / 13:30 pm

The first-ever perpetual eucharistic adoration chapel in Manhattan, New York, has been installed at the Dominican-led Church of St. Joseph in the Greenwich Village neighborhood.

The idea for the chapel was that of Archbishop of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who desired opportunities for perpetual eucharistic adoration in the city, where there was none, according to Father Boniface Endorf, OP, pastor of the Church of St. Joseph.

When Endorf became the pastor at the church five years ago, a staff member from the Office of Young Adult Outreach contacted him about the cardinal’s wishes and he responded: “Sure, we could do that!”

“And that was the beginning of this whole process,” Endorf said. 

According to the pastor, there are some perpetual adoration chapels “deep in Queens and Staten Island,” but none in or near Manhattan.

The chapel, which can seat approximately 25 adorers with eight choir stalls for the Dominican friars, is located in the rectory next to the church. The chapel is on the first floor, where the parish offices are also located.

Endorf said the chapel will only be accessible to those who have a key card, which they can sign up for at the parish during office hours. 

“It’s just because it’s New York City, you have to be conscious of who’s coming in and that they want to come in to pray and not for some other reason,” he said. “So it’s a way of ensuring the security of the people using the chapel.”

Front and center inside the chapel is the altar, which says “Mysterium Fidei,” meaning “the mystery of faith.” The image of divine mercy is on the tabernacle.

On the wall above the altar are the words “Fortis Est Ut Mors Dilectio” and its English translation, “love is strong as death,” taken from the Song of Songs chapter 8.  

The whole project cost $850,000, which took two years of fundraising.

“We wanted to make sure that it was beautiful and worthy of centuries of use,” Endorf said.

On July 30, Cardinal Dolan celebrated the 11:30 a.m. Sunday liturgy; then he led a eucharistic procession to the chapel and gave it a blessing. About 500 people were present for the Mass, according to Endorf, who said he thinks the spiritual fruits of the chapel will be “huge.”

“I think it’s going to be huge, because this is an area right in the middle of Manhattan. It’s an area of a lot of distraction and noise and energy that’s good or bad, depending on where it’s leading you. And here’s a place where you can spend time in quiet and hear God and his love for you,” he said.

“It’s going to have a huge impact to allow people to spend that time with Christ present in the Eucharist, to receive the graces that he wants of them, and to hear where God’s calling them in their lives.”

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Joseph Bukuras is a journalist at the Catholic News Agency.  Joe has prior experience working in state and federal government, in non-profits, and Catholic education. He has contributed to an array of publications and his reporting has been cited by leading news sources, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Catholic University of America. He is based out of the Boston area.