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By Erika Anderson
Staff Writer
ATLANTA--As he blessed and dedicated their new school chapel on May 15,
Archbishop John F. Donoghue encouraged the students of the Archbishop Thomas A.
Donnellan School to visit the chapel often and sit quietly with Christ.
“We love Him so much, and we want to talk things over with Him so much,
that we put a house for Him in our churches, called a tabernacle, and we let
Him stay there, so that He is nearby, and we can visit with Him whenever we
want to, or more important, whenever we need to,” the archbishop said.
“He will be there in the chapel with you, and you will know that He is
talking to you and helping you figure out your problems--and when you are done,
you will be able to go out the door....You will be able to make wrong things
right and make people happy again, because you have visited with the Lord, and
He has come into your heart to stay there no matter what and to be your special
friend forever.”
Students, parents, faculty and staff of the Donnellan School gathered in the
cafetorium of the school as Archbishop Donoghue and concelebrants Msgr. Edward
Dillon, pastor of Holy Spirit Church, Atlanta, and Father Mark Lacey,
chancellor, celebrated Mass and dedicated the newly-constructed St. John
Vianney Chapel.
After the prayers of the faithful, the archbishop, Msgr. Dillon and Father
Lacey, along with Sister Dawn Gear, GNSH, principal of the Donnellan School, a
few other faculty members and members of the student council, processed
upstairs for the blessing of the chapel and altar.
Archbishop Donoghue then sprinkled holy water on the walls of the chapel and
incensed the altar as he recited a prayer of blessing over it.
“Brothers and sisters, our community rejoices as it comes together to
bless this altar,” the archbishop prayed. “Let us ask God to look
kindly on the church’s offering placed upon it and to receive his people
as an everlasting gift.”
The archbishop then led the group back into the cafetorium for the rest of
the Mass.
Following Communion, the archbishop and the concelebrants again returned to
the chapel, this time to place the Blessed Sacrament into its home in the
tabernacle of the new chapel, then returning to the cafetorium, gave the
congregation its final blessing.
Sister Gear thanked the archbishop and concelebrants by presenting them with
yearbooks from the Donnellan School.
Plans for building the chapel began in late December and were carried out by
the Likatin Corp. and Hanna Interiors. The construction, a $50,000 project, was
made possible by a donation from Mary B. Schwab, in memory of her friend
Marianne Boggs and was completed in late March. Several other donations were
made for liturgical items, such as vestments, candlesticks, cruets and vessels.
Two plaques hang on the wall outside of the chapel, one in memory of Boggs,
and one that reads “Let us prayerfully remember those whose contributions
have made the renovations and decoration of this chapel a possibility.”
A simple room stained in cherry, the chapel, renovated from a classroom, is
known as a “teaching chapel.” The doorway and pews are a little
smaller, the altar does not stand quite as tall as in other chapels and the
podium comes complete with a pedal pump to raise and lower it so that even the
kindergartners can participate. Children’s lectionaries will also be used
so that the Scripture readings can be easily understood.
“The purpose of that chapel is that it is a teaching classroom,”
Sister Gear said. “We will be able to teach the importance of the
tabernacle, and we have kneelers so now we can teach the children when to
kneel, because we didn’t have kneelers in the cafeteria (where we have
been celebrating Mass).”
Sister Gear said that because the Donnellan School is not a parish school,
they are very excited to be able to have the Blessed Sacrament. “We do so
appreciate having the Blessed Sacrament in our school,” she said.
“Because we don’t have a church, like the parish schools, it means
even more to us.”
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