By Joe Pisani
FAIRFIELD — Seven years ago, Father Samuel Kachuba started getting emails from high school students, who asked if they could stop by after sports and clubs to spend time in prayer at the chapel in St. Pius X Parish. In fact, there was so much interest, he decided to keep the doors open as much as possible, and eventually “as much as possible” turned into 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Over time, he noticed that more and more people were coming during the day to be with Jesus, including police officers who would stop by for a few minutes of prayer.
Now, the parish is about to begin perpetual Adoration at the Mother of God Chapel for not only St. Pius X, but also parishes throughout the area, through its “Adore 365” effort, which will begin this month. They are enlisting people in order to have two adorers, or “guardians,” for every hour of the week.
“This opportunity for perpetual Adoration will let the rest of the world participate in the same kind of monastic schedule as nuns and priests, who pray throughout the night and day,” Father Kachuba said. “We can also share in perpetual prayer. The Lord is always present for us in the Eucharist in the tabernacle, and perpetual Adoration is an invitation from him ‘to come and see, to come and spend time with me.’”
The other benefit, he says, are the fruits that come from adoration of the Eucharistic Jesus.
“The individual who participates in perpetual Adoration and commits to an hour of prayer every week is receiving so many graces just by making that time for prayer … and they become an intercessor for others,” he said.
Research shows that parishes with perpetual adoration have increased participation in Sunday Mass, an increase in sacramental life—notably the Sacrament of Reconciliation—an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and increased activity in community service, charitable works and evangelization.
“You will start to see the fruits that come from Adoring,” Father Kachuba said. “People also uncover their ability to sacrifice doing Adoration overnight, or whatever time they choose. It reminds them they have the capacity to put aside time for prayer, and that it’s something they really can and should do. This becomes such a comfort to them.”
During the pandemic, Father Kachuba began praying about the possibility of starting perpetual Adoration, but the time wasn’t right to launch the initiative. There was the additional consideration that it would require a lot of work for one priest to undertake in addition to running the parish.
“I realized that God was going to have to help me because I was stretched too thin,” he said. “By myself, I wouldn’t be able to do this, and lo and behold, a young woman, Angelica Martinez, called and asked to meet with me.”
He first met Martinez 16 years ago when he was a transitional deacon at St. Mary Parish in Norwalk.
“She talked about this desire in her heart to help parishes start perpetual Adoration, and said that God had inspired this,” Father Kachuba said. “We realized we already had so many things in place, including a chapel that’s open 24 hours a day, where Jesus is present, so it was really a question of organizing it and getting things going.”
Today, Martinez is coordinating the effort with a team of volunteers and is excited about the future.
“When Father said, ‘Yes, let’s do it,’ I knew this was the Lord’s gift to us,” she said. “The Lord has humbled me, and he has continued to just ask me to show up and he will do the rest. I recognize I can’t do anything by myself. He has had me on a journey to trust him through others and to seek out help. He has also provided me with all these volunteers, and I am so grateful for each one of them.”
Martinez said that right from the start, the Lord and Our Lady have led her in the effort to create perpetual Adoration chapels.
“I am eternally grateful, and I recognize the beauty of what we are building,” she said. “This is so important because it is he who is. Now, the Lord will be available to us, his children, at all times in the Eucharist.”
Father Kachuba says that Bishop Frank J. Caggiano has often encouraged parishes to provide adoration chapels.
“I want to respond to that because I agree with him wholeheartedly,” he said. Especially during this time of Eucharistic Revival, it seems right to call people into a deeper sense of reverence for the Eucharist — all of us, priests, nuns, laypeople, it doesn’t matter. We can all come and spend that time in prayer.”
Father Kachuba also said: “A perpetual Adoration chapel is never just parish-based. It is a call from the Lord to everyone to come and pray. You always have people from other towns and other parishes because it is meant to be a service to the whole community as a place of prayer. That’s a really beautiful component of it.”
The parish currently has Eucharistic Adoration in the church from 7 to 8 pm every Wednesday, along with Confession; and in the chapel on First Fridays from 9 am to 9 pm. Otherwise, the chapel is open all day for prayer.
“The tabernacle is there, and Jesus is waiting for them,” Father Kachuba said. “Several years ago when we started First Friday Adoration, I was really moved by the way people responded and made the commitment to come. They come every month, and we always have people signing up who are very faithful. It has been a tremendous gift.”
He tells the story of a man who isn’t Catholic but comes several days a week to spend an hour in the chapel in the presence of the Eucharist, and being there with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament “has done wonders for his spiritual journey.”
“When you create a space where people can come to pray in Eucharistic Adoration, really, truly amazing things can happen,” he said. And not just for adults, but also young people in youth ministry and those discerning a vocation.”
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament played an enormous role in Father Kachuba’s vocation, and if not for regular Adoration, it would have taken him much longer to figure out what his call was, he said.
“So many times at youth events and retreats and service trips, I’ve seen the way young people respond to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament,” he said. “It’s incredible. It seemed that 10 years ago, I had to convince adults that kids could handle Adoration. Then, they would see it happen, and watch how teenagers, high school students and even younger students responded to being in the presence of the Lord. They’re so reverent. It’s beautiful. It shocks a lot of folks. I’ve always believed that if you bring kids in front of Jesus, you can let Jesus do the rest.”
If you are willing to commit to giving the Lord one hour a week at St. Pius X Parish at 834 Brookside Drive in Fairfield, and wish to receive more information about Adore 365, email saintpiusxadoration@gmail.com and include your full name and phone number. To sign up, visit https://www.st-pius.org/adore365
