Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament at the Good Shepherd Church in Bothasig

Launched 13/14 May 2000 on the feast days of Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Good Shepherd

Pope John Paull ll at the 45th International Eucharistic Congress in Serville, Spain 9963 spoke on the spiritual strength of Eucharistic Adoration and encouraged all parishes throughout the world to establish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. He compared the experience of spending time in prayers before the Blessed Sacrament as time conversing with a friend face-to-face instead of conversing with Jesus in the Tabernacle with a closed door. He emphasised that Eucharistic Adoration is an extension of and preparation for the Sacrifice of Mass and Communion.

THE SEED

Fr David, Parish, Priest at the time, had the vision to start Eucharistic Adoration in the parish.   A small group of Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers, Lyn Galante, Ray and Maureen Lopes and Evelien Abrahamse, had the habit of meeting informally; spiritual matters were often debated. Fr. Davide created a spiritual awareness of the possibility of having Eucharist Adoration in the parish The idea to establish a PERPETUAL Eucharistic Adoration Chapel was further fuelled by Brian Schekierka who gave Fr. David 2 tapes from Durban where 5 parishes had maintained 24-hour Eucharistic Adoration for 3 years. Lyn recalls that the one tape, “A call to Adore”, inspired them with the courage to set up a chapel. This tape was truly the seed that was planted and started to grown in this small team.

Once the decision was taken to start Eucharistic Adoration at Good Shepherd Parish, the team researched the various Adoration Chapel throughout the world and decided to applied the format that proved successful in America. A point emphasised by all parishes was that Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration needed commitment from the whole parish to be successful.

THE SPARK IGNITED THE PARISH

The small working team ensured that the parish was informed about the planning, progress and final implementation of the chapel. All were encouraged to pray for the success of the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel

After a room was identified (a former classroom) as a suitable venue for the chapel, the team set themselves a timeline of 2 weeks to get the venue ready. Fr. David cautioned them to be more realistic about the work required and suggested 6 weeks; he said even with this timeline it would still be difficult to get everything ready in time. When Lyn checked the Liturgical Calendar, the suggested timeframe would take them to the 13 May This would be the feast date of Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. In addition, the parish feast day of the” Good Shepherd” fell on the 14th May. All these alignments were startling and delivered a strong indication that the Holy Spirit was behind this initiative.

Everyone set to work to paint out the small classroom and carpet it. Curtains were hung to cover all the walls which really created a cosy, inviting space. The chapel was furnished with 10 comfortable chairs. The altar was donated and Father Michael van Heerden donated the beautiful Monstrance.

Lyn, Evelien, Ray and Maureen continued promoting the Chapel tirelessly. They were there after each mass to motivate people to commit to 1 hour of Adoration; approximately 320 parishioners committed by the initial launch.

PERPETUAL EUCHARIST ADORATION LAUNCHED on the 13/14 May 2000

Father David Anderson and team launched Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration on the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima and the Good Shepherd, dedicating the chapel to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. A 24-hour vigil was organised for the launching – the spiritual blessings were unmeasurable.

FATHER DAVID ANDERSON LOVE FOR EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

Fr. David recalls that there were many structural changes at the church when he was parish priest. The Conference centre was built; parking spaces was mapped out etc. Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration was part of this vision.

A pilgrimage to Medjugorje was another spiritual vision of Father David. The first appearance of Our Lady, Queen of Peace to 6 children in Bosnia-Herzegovina was on the 24th June 1981. Father David shared the daily messages, as received from Our Lady Queen of Peace with the parish; the weekly bulletin was often filled with Medjugorje news, God’s existence and His unconditional love for us was the foundation of all messages and people were encouraged to reorientate their lives towards the Sacraments and His Church.

A pilgrimage was also planned to take place in 2000 but had to be postponed as it was very complicated to travel to Bosnia-Herzegovina due to the war. With the assistance of Val Tangney, the pilgrimage was rescheduled for May 2001. Only 9 people registered and were paid by the final confirmation date and cancelling the pilgrimage was very real possibility. Fr. David requested an additional 24-hour before a final decision is taken. At this critical stage, Allan Nesbitt, who had previously travelled to Medjugorje, introduced an American visitor, Wayne Wiebel, to Fr. David requesting permission for him to speak at all the Sunday masses on Medjugorje. Wayne Wiebel, a world-renowned expert, had written several books on Medjugorje. This was an opportunity that Fr. Davide eagerly grasped.

The God-incidences were only just getting started. At the Sunday morning mass (10AM) when Wayne Weible gave his discourse in place of the sermon a miracle occurred. Wayne always held a rosary for inspiration while speaking. However, on this occasion he had left his rosary in his hotel room and mass was just about to start. Allan offered his rosary but it lacked a crucifix that had strangely separated from the rosary, which wouldn’t do. Finally, Fr. David gave his rosary to Wayne who was then satisfied.

It was good to see Fr. David’s rosary peeking out of Wayne’s fist as he delivered his powerful discourse. This rosary was well known by the parishioners as Fr. David was in the habit of praying this rosary with all the parishioners before every mass. At the end of the mass Wayne dutifully returned the rosary to Fr. David, Allan being witness to this. Initially, Fr. David remarked that it wasn’t his, as the metal links were a different colour while the beads were the same dark woody brown. The links of this rosary were a golden colour, except for part of a single link in the rosary that still maintained the original metallic colour.

It now dawned on all three of us that this was indeed Fr. David’s rosary the links of which had changed colour (A known Medjugorje miracle). The erratic link, Fr. David later conjectured, was a repair that had been done that had incorporated part of a new link that had probably not been part of the original blessed rosary. Wayne immediately commented that he had heard of this miracle occurring at Medjugorje but that it had never happened to him before. It should be remarked that at this point Wayne had travelled to five continents speaking about Medjugorje, an odyssey that is beautifully relayed in his book “Medjugorje the Mission” published in 1992 that Allan had read. What an honour that this should happen to him at the Good Shepard Parish in Cape Town, South Africa

The parishioners quickly picked up on the whole story, especially the Portuguese community, when the facts become general knowledge at the evening mass on the same day (6PM) where once again Wayne gave his powerful discourse that now included the facts about Fr. David’s rosary. By Monday a further 23 pilgrims mostly Portuguese had signed up.

Many prayers were offered for the success of the pilgrimage and Our Lady’s intercession requested. This last-minute success causing all the plans to fall into place was for Fr. David a true miracle. Eventually, four such pilgrimages went to Medjugorje within the space of two years. The parishioners who went on pilgrimage returned with testimonies of many personal blessings; the sun was known to pulsate on occasion and this was observed at supper on the last night of the first pilgrimage. Many rosary links changed to a golden colour and all who had taken part in the pilgrimages spoke about the peace and serenity of the area.

This was especially amazing as the impact of the war (1991-1995) was evident in all the area they travelled through in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Mostar was the biggest town close to Medjugorje (26km, a bit bigger than Bellville) that at the time of the pilgrimages was still a ruin, its state witnessing to the extremely heavy fighting that had been going on in the area, with every single building pockmarked with bullet craters and yet the village of Medjugorje itself, was untouched.

This pilgrimage to Medjugorje impacted on the Chapel, perpetual adoration was firmly established with increased hourly commitments for adoration. Over 300 parishioners committed themselves to spend time in the chapel to attain perpetual 24-hour adoration. The Good Shepherd parish had successfully established the first 24-hour perpetual adoration chapel in the Western Cape.

THE STRUCTURE PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT THE BLESSED SACRAMENT WAS NEVER LEFT ALONE IN THE CHAPEL

The following structure were established according to the American model.

  1. Support from the priest is essential although it is a lay ministry. Meetings with Fr. David were held when needed for input to ensure the spiritual planning was matched with the Liturgical Calendar.
  2. 4 Shift Leaders. 24 hours per week were divided into 6 hours per day i.e. 06h00-12h00; 12h00-18h00; 18h00-24h00; 24h00-06h00. Each shift leader took responsibility for 1 division.

They were primarily responsible for the:

  • planning and distributing prayer and novenas according to the Liturgical Calendar
  • administrative
  • maintaining the rosters with contact numbers for the shift leaders, coordinators and guardians up to date and distributing copies;
  • placing a notice in the bulletin when an hour was vacant, requesting a guardian to commit
  • actively motivating parishioners, after each weekend mass, to spend one hour with Jesus Christ.

The shift leaders to date:

  • Ray Lopes R.I.P 4/09/2021
  • Maureen Lopes – Residing at Green Pastures
  • Evelien Abrahamse – relocated after approx. 1 ½ years
  • Lyn Galante – retired 2019 due to ill health (pre Covid)
  • Doug Vincent R.I.P 30/07/2017
  • Ernest Ratcliffe R.I.P
  • Cilla da Vogel – Relocated
  • John Hutton
  • Ana Goncalves
  1. 24 Coordinators for 6 hours per day. They were accountable to
  • ensure that hours were always covered and where indicated would try to find a substitute if someone could not make their hour; if unable to find someone, the coordinator would step in to keep Jesus company
  • any concerns or suggestions would be passed up to the relevant shift leader
  1. A minimum of 168 guardians was required to cover all the hours, however, many hours had two guardians.
  • Guardians never left Our Lord alone; only when the next guardian arrived were they able to leave. (there was a gentleman’s agreement that guardians would arrive at least 5 minutes before their allocated hour of Adoration)
  • Guardians often had their own backup plans for a replacement if personal circumstances prevented them from being in the Chapel during their allocated hour.
  • If they could not find someone or they experienced an emergency, they would contact the coordinator who would find a replacement or cover the hour.
  1. Knowing that there was always a guardian in the Chapel, reassured people that the Chapel would be open and they could pop in whenever they wanted to spend time with Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

SUCCESS OF PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

The weekly bulletin actively reported on the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel which was loved throughout the diocese as it was the only one open 24/7; there were many visitors from other parishes.

Initially the hours were recorded and Holy Cards with total number of hours and a prayer were distributed yearly.

  • 2003 May – 50 000 hours Celebrated by 3rd Anniversary,
  • 2006 13 May 2000 – 13 Nov 2006 Total 100 000 hours celebrated.

Thereafter the anniversaries of the Chapel were celebrated

  • 28 June 2008 – 2009 The year of St Paul. Archbishop Lawrence Henry announced that he was “happy to add the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel at Good Shepherd Parish as a designated place where the Plenary Indulgence for the Pauline Year may be obtained” on condition that all the required criteria are met.
  • 2010 - the 10th Anniversary was celebrated with
  • 1st holy mass of Thanksgiving in Honour of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament on 12 May, preceded by Benediction and Morning Prayers.
  • 2 Holy Masses of Thanksgiving and Praise were celebrated on Ascension Thursday at 09h00 and 19h00.
  • On 15 May Holy Hour with Exposition of the Blessed Sacraments followed by the 4th Mass of Thanksgiving at 18h00 was celebrated by Archbishop Lawrence Henry
  • 2016 – 16 years of Adoration was celebrated with
  • Saturday 14 May Holy Mass at 17h00; Rosary prayed before Mass – Intention: Praise and thanksgiving for 16 years of Perpetual Eucharist Adoration
  • Wednesday 18th May 09h00 – Parishioners gathered in the hall after Mass for “Bring and Share” celebration.
  • Saturday 21st May – Holy Mass at 17h00; Intentions for all Chapel Guardians. The rosary was prayed before Mass.
  • Tuesday 24th May – Holy Mass at 09h00 with Rosary before Mass; Intentions, Thanksgiving to Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament

During the time that building alterations were carried out to enlarge the church, the Chapel was moved to the lounge of the priest’s house. The Chapel is now housed within the church enclosed by glass walls.

On two occasions, having parishioners on the premises late at night, saved the theft of the bronze statue that is situated in the grounds of the church.

IMPACT OF COVID

One of the impacts of COVID was the closure of the Chapel, as personal contact was restricted. Parishioners were encouraged to continue keeping their hour at home in prayer. Once we could return to Adoration the conditions had changed significantly. The seating was reduced from 10 to 4 to ensure that social distance was complied with as per government regulations; the number of guardians decreased and most of the hours were not covered. The Blessed Sacrament cannot be left alone so exposition of the Eucharist in the beautiful monstrance gifted by Fr. Michael van Heerden was discontinued. Instead, a tabernacle (borrowed from Schoenstatt) with a lock was put into place so the Blessed Sacrament was protected when no one was in the chapel. Later we started using the parish tabernacle which is used for adoration on Holy Thursday.

THE WAY FORWARD

At a meeting held in the Hall on the 1 October, 2024 a small team volunteered to assist with the promotion of the Perpetual Eucharist Adoration Chapel. The primary effort is to attract more adorers. We wish to bring the Chapel back to its former glory with the Chapel occupied for at least 16 hours a day, better still 24/7 throughout the year.

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us that we don’t leave Your Son on His own.

References:

  1. Lyn Galante
  2. Father David Anderson
  3. Philip Cader
  4. Allan Nesbitt

The Chapel is open 24 hours - Monday to Sunday.

We encourage everyone to please commit to an hour we need to pray for Our Parish, Our Archdiocese, and Our Country.

Please message Ana (082 461 6581) for those who want to book.

The chapel is based on Jesus’ words: ‘will you not watch one hour with me.’ Anyone may go to the chapel to pray at any time of the day or night for as long as they need to be there.

‘Guardians’ of the host are in place 24 hours a day. They have a set hour of duty every week. If you wish to make this commitment to Christ, just contact one of the shift leaders.

*Thank you to the guardians who responded to the invitation to spend a Holy Hour with JESUS*

 

Please contact Ana 

082 461 6581

PLEASE DO SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL FOR GOD - THE REWARDS ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD!!