Chapel of St. Peter and Paul

Welcome to the Chapel of St. Peter and Paul 

 

With holy water, oil and the word of the Lord, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler consecrated the Chapel of Saints Peter and Paul for the worship of God. The first new Catholic church in Tyler in more than 70 years, the chapel will serve as a second location for the Immaculate Conception Parish. More than 600 people gathered Thursday to celebrate the first Mass held in the new facility, built on the Bishop T.K. Gorman Regional Catholic School campus. Bishop Álvaro Corrada, apostolic administrator of the Catholic Diocese of Tyler, led the dedication ceremony, which began outside the church. After receiving the keys from the architect and contractor, the bishop handed them over to Father Anthony McLaughlin, rector of the cathedral, who led the procession inside.Corrada told the parishioners the chapel is a place where people can encounter God. He said just as Mary, the mother of Jesus, had an encounter with Christ, her son, so too people today can encounter God.

“We must proclaim to people this is a place of God,” Corrada said. “God encounters us here. God loves you and he calls us to love Him. …This is why we have built this beautiful chapel so that love can be affirmed.”



THE MASS OF DEDICATION

The dedication Mass involved the dedication rites used universally by the Catholic Church, McLaughlin said by phone before the ceremony. Through the Mass, the building and all inside of it is set apart for sacred use, McLaughlin said. The building is sprinkled with holy water, anointed with oil and incensed. The blessed sacrament is placed in the holy tabernacle and the sanctuary lamp is lit, McLaughlin said.The building itself reflects the beliefs of the church, McLaughlin said. The largest stained glass window behind the altar features the risen Lord ascending. To his left and right are the twelve apostles and to the bottom are Saints Peter and Paul and the four evangelists, McLaughlin said. The smaller windows, which have not come in yet, also will be stained glass. The significance of naming the church after Saints Peter and Paul is that these men are not only models of faith, but the church believes they intercede with God on behalf of mankind, McLaughlin said. The relics of Saints Peter and Paul were to be placed in the altar during the Mass of dedication. McLaughlin said the completion of this facility is very meaningful for the Catholic community.

“For us it's very significant because it more deeply roots the Catholic faith here in the city of Tyler,” McLaughlin said. “It provides greater rootedness and stability to the faith and a greater public face to the faith.”

He said the chapel will serve as a beacon on Loop 323 for the belief that God is with man.

BUILDING A DREAM

The vision for the chapel began in 2005 with discussions about finding another permanent space in which parishionerscould meet. For 16 years, the diocese had St. Paul's Chapel in the chancery building, but it never was considered a permanent location for worship, and it had come to serve as a type of overflow space for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.After the decision to build a new church on the Gorman campus, the diocese launched a capital campaign in 2007
to raise the $5 million necessary to build the facility. Monsignor Joseph E. Strickland said the diocese completed that campaign in the spring of 2010 and began construction that summer. Strickland said with the exception of a few incomplete pledges, the vast majority of the funding is complete. “The chapel really is a tribute to the Catholic community here in Tyler, particularly the cathedral parish,” Strickland said by phone beforecelebrating the Mass of dedication. 

St. Paul's Chapel in the chancery building will be converted to a large meeting space and library. And students from Bishop T.K. Gorman, who used to celebrate Mass there, will use the chapel each week. Strickland said he is very pleased with how the whole project came together given the amount of money raised and planning required. He said the location seems to be just right and a lot of people already have commented about the chapel.The dedication is particularly poignant in that the diocese is celebrating 25 years this year. 

“It really is a huge step for the cathedral community,” Strickland said. “To me it calls to mind what the parish did back in 1934 as a Catholic parish to build what became in 1987 the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.”

By EMILY GUEVARA, Tyler Morning Telgraph Staff Writer

 
 
 
 FOR PICTURE GALLERIES OF THE CHAPEL AND DEDICATION MASS