34 Years of Perpetual Adoration In Dubuque

Today marks the 34th Anniversary of continuous Perpetual Adoration* of the Blessed Sacrament in the city of Dubuque, IA.  The chapel where this takes place is operated by the Power of Prayer Inc.
On 25 July 1978, Archbishop James J. Byrne blessed the chapel & Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was begun the following day, 26 July, the feast of St. Joachim & Ann. The first chapel was in the former Chancery of the Archdiocese of Dubuque & the then home of the Archbishop. It was located at the corner of 11th & Bluff St. With the retirement of Archbishop Byrne & the sale of the Archbishop's reseidence in 1983,  the chapel moved to the corner of 17th & Heeb St. where it remained until 2011. The location served its purpose. However the age & condition of the building made it imperative that a new location be found. The new location is at 1860 St. Ambrose St. on the campus of St. Anthony's Catholic Church on the 1st floor of the former convent building.  After renovations, on 8 September 2011 (the Blessed Mother's Birthday) the chapel was moved to its present location. (Note: to ensure there was no break, there was a short period of time where adoration continued at the old location while starting at the new location.)

While many people have either stopped in for an occasional visit or committed to an hour, the new location has been a real blessing as it has made the chapel much more visible as it is near a main arterial road. The result has been an upswing in people stopping in & spending time in prayer before the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus.

Besides Eucharistic Adorationally, for many years now there has had a Mass for Life & the end of abortion on Wednesday afternoons  in a seperate chapel (Heeb St & current location). When Planned Parenthood opened its original location in DBQ, the chapel looks down from the bluff above. I am sure that those Masses are part of the reason that Planned Parenthood has not been the big success it thought it would be. The result was to go from 40 to 17 hours a week. & even in its new location, about 2 miles down the road from the chapel, the effects of the prayers are still being seen. The hours or "clients" have not increased. Someday soon, all those prayers (in front of the clinic, at teh chapel & elsewhere) will bear fruit in the permanant closing of any Planned Parenthood facility in DBQ.#

That is only 1 small example of the fruit that has been born by having this chapel in DBQ. 1 thing that will never be known until the Last Judgment is all the fruit that has been born by having this chapel in DBQ. But I can assure you it is far beyond what any of us can imagine.

I have to add that is hard for me to believe that the Adoration Chapel has been arround DBQ as long as it has. I can remember when it 1st opened up downtown & occasionally stopping in for a visit. It has been a real blessing to have it there & at the subsequent locations. My hope & prayer is that it will continue to remain in existance until the end of time.^

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* Under the rules & regulations of the Catholic Church found in Eucharistiae Sacramentum (Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass), par 82-100, Adoration is not allowed during the Easter Triduum. The reason behind the regulation has to do with the events being litugically commemorated during those 3 days. So, for those days Perpetual Adoration is merely suspended, not ended.

# For more on the importance of Perpetual Adoration as a spiritual weapon in the battle against abortion I recommend you read Perpetual Adoration as a Necessary Antidote to Abortion by Servant of God Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

^As I have also mentioned before, we are now blessed with 2 Perpetual Adoration chapels in the DBQ area. 1 on each side of the Mississippi. The other chapel is St. Joseph Guardian of the Redeemer Perpetual Adoration Chapel at 190 Montgomery Ave. E DBQ. With the presence of 2 chapels you can be sure the fruit of Eucharistic Adoration in the Tri-state area will be exponentially multiplied.