|
Mesa shrine will provide solace to cancer patients
By Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
April 3, 2008
MESA — Even though St. Peregrine lived about 700 years ago, he’s still very much in the hearts and minds of millions who pray for his intercession today.
And it’s likely that the acclaim of this patron saint of cancer sufferers is only going to grow thanks to a new chapel and shrine being planned in his honor at Christ the King Parish.
“The shrine will help patients and their family members to be drawn closer to God and to find their strength in God who will provide a quiet sanctuary for them,” Melissa Veselovsky said.
She runs the diocese’s Healing Through the Body of Christ Cancer Ministry, which provides comprehensive support for people with cancer.
This includes one-on-one outreach, information on the many aspects of cancer, help with obtaining treatment supplies, locating financial resources and emotional and spiritual support.
But finding the time and space to attend to spiritual needs is an important, but often overlooked aspect in dealing with cancer, Veselovsky said.
“Especially when someone’s going through cancer, so many things are going on,” she said. “It’s so hectic. To find a safe, serene place is very important.”
Christopher Kellogg, an oncologist with Ironwood Cancer and Research Centers and a parishioner at Corpus Christi, agreed.
“In general, a lot of care in the office is focused on making treatment decisions and dealing with side effects and toxicities of the treatment,” Kellogg said. “But there is a need for dealing with the spiritual side of illnesses, too.”
The plans for the St. Peregrine Chapel and Shrine call for a 2,200-square-foot building on the north side of Christ the King’s campus. It will feature a domed roof, with dark wood lending the interior a quiet, “old school” feel, Veselovsky said.
There will also a be statue and relic of St. Peregrine and a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the chapel, as well as the Blessed Sacrament, which will be perpetually exposed.
In fact, housing the shrine at Christ the King proved providential, Veselovsky explained, because the parish had drawn up plans for a perpetual adoration chapel years ago that never saw fruition.
When Veselovsky brought her idea of a shrine to Fr. Steve Kunkel, pastor of Christ the King, he showed her the drawings for the adoration chapel.
“As the two of us looked at the plans, we knew that the Holy Spirit was guiding us and that it was going to be the right place,” she said.
Fr. Kunkel agreed.
“For me, the lights went on and the answer was, we need to make this adoration chapel a cancer shrine and give it a strong identity,” he said. “Looking backwards, I think it’s the work of the Holy Spirit that it didn’t get built until now, because it needed the right inspiration.”
The chapel will also house Veselovsky’s new offices as director of Healing Through the Body of Christ Cancer Ministry. Volunteers will staff the chapel and help anyone who visits.
Fr. Kunkel hopes to have organized prayer every night at the chapel, as well as seasonal events that will support cancer patients and their families.
The parish has enough money to build the shell of the chapel, which it hopes to do this summer, but it is still raising funds for windows, pews and other necessary elements.
The shrine is selling commemorative bricks to raise money for the chapel’s completion and the Knights of Columbus are hosting a charity golf tournament for construction costs.
|
