Tabernacle

All the way back in June for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, I preached a bit about the tabernacle and the qualities it should have as a truly significant place where Jesus in the Eucharist can be found. There are three common properties given in various documents to describe the place where the tabernacle is within a church. They are: 1) It should be located in a distinguished place that is conspicuous, noble and prominent; 2) It should be beautiful and suitably adorned or decorated; 3) It should be located in a place conducive to prayer. For example, Redemptionis Sacramentum, an instruction from the Vatican in 2004 on the Sacrament of Redemption, words it this way: “The Most Holy Sacrament is to be reserved in a tabernacle in a part of the church that is noble, prominent, readily visible, and adorned in a dignified manner and furthermore ‘suitable for prayer’ by reason of the quietness of the location, the space available in front of the tabernacle, and also the supply of benches or seats and kneelers.”

I thought it might be a good time, having journeyed with you through Jesus’ great Bread of Life discourse in John 6, to perhaps give you some insight into what our parish’s liturgical committee has discussed over the past year or more regarding our tabernacle. Most of our discussion has been about the aspect of visibility and prominence, since this seems to be an area that is weakest in our parish’s current placement. The Roman Missal mentions the option to have the place of reservation for the Most Holy Eucharist be either in the sanctuary or in a chapel like ours that would be “suitable for the private adoration and prayer of the faithful and organically connected to the church and readily noticeable by the Christian faithful.” One of the things that hinders or prevents this visibility to anyone coming into the church is perhaps the fact that the wall which separates the chapel from the nave area of the church looks very similar to the other walls, with the exception of some small windows. These are three main options we’ve discussed and pondered over regarding the placement of our tabernacle, along with some really rough drawings to get a sense of what’s being described. These options are simply listed in the order of simplest to more complex, each with their own strengths or weaknesses to consider.

This icon indicates the location of the tabernacle in the 3 layouts.

Tabernacle behind altar in the sanctuary

This is perhaps the simplest option. One of the downsides is that the tabernacle is a bit further away from people who wish to pray near it. The biggest question would be on how we then use the chapel without the tabernacle. One of the solutions was to still use it as a more private chapel with the new votive candle stand we have coming, along with some devotional images of saints.  

The Blessed Sacrament chapel in this layout is open for a different use instead, perhaps for other devotions.

Change wall of chapel

This option keeps the tabernacle where it currently is, but we could remove, alter or change the wall significantly to allow it to be seen from different angles and entrances. For example, it could be changed to mostly glass or a central entrance put in. It could be set apart as different to increase visibility and prominence. People would immediately recognize that area as someplace special that they may wish to check out, unlike a sacristy or a storage closet.

The tabernacle and Blessed Sacrament chapel remains as is essentially, with some change to the highlighted wall to increase prominence and visibility.

A view of our current chapel on the other side of the wall. This could be more visible to all with a change to the wall.

Double facing tabernacle

This is perhaps the most involved option, but has some good potential, I think. It was inspired by my experience at a newer parish in Edmonton, Corpus Christi. There, they have a tabernacle behind the altar, mounted in the wall so that it is accessible and visible from the main section of the church. On the left and right sides of the sanctuary, they have entrances to go behind that main wall into a smaller chapel situated behind it. The tabernacle in the wall between the two spaces can also be seen and accessible from this side as well. It has two doors on it which can open to both sides, and has the option of a small glass window (a luna), where the Eucharist can be exposed for private times of adoration. 

Our chapel is actually built similarly in being accessible but separate from the main body of the church. A custom tabernacle could be fitted into where the current window is, making it visible and accessible to the main part of the church, while also still being part of the chapel behind the wall for personal and private prayer. To accommodate the new placement of the tabernacle in the wall, it would be fitting to move the altar and ambo in front of that wall, creating a new sanctuary there. The chairs for the congregation could be turned to face that direction as well. I like that this option still carries on what is good in our current setup (the close and quietness of a chapel) but offers something new as well (tabernacle visible and prominent for all coming into the church).

The tabernacle is mounted in the centre of the wall, being visible and accessible from front and back, keeping the Blessed Sacrament chapel for more private prayer. The re-location of sanctuary and orientation of chairs toward the tabernacle is the biggest difference here.

The chapel-side of the tabernacle at Corpus Christi in Edmonton with the Eucharist exposed in the luna (glass window) as described above. A more standard door is on the other side facing the rest of the church where Mass is celebrated.

These are just some of the ideas we’ve thought of. What are your thoughts? What are the strengths and weaknesses of these ideas? Are there other ones to consider? Should we do anything at all or just keep things as they are? I would love to hear your thoughts.  

Fr. Brian Trueman