Additional Spaces

In 1995 the small chapel to the right of the altar was renovated into a space where adoration of the Blessed Sacrament could more easily take place. Parishioners sign up for hour-long intervals of prayer before the Eucharist. The chapel contains modern stained glass windows and a crucifix icon as well as icons of various saints. The church’s confessional is also located in this chapel.

The votive shrines of Christ the King in the narthex (photo at left) and St. Francis on the northwest wall of the nave (photo at right) are places of devotional prayer. Often those who pray light a votive candle as a reminder of the vigilant hope we have in Christ our Light. In 2008 two stained-glass windows from Dixon Studios in Staunton were added behind the Christ the King shrine, one angel holding the “Alpha” sign, the other with an “Omega,” the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, signifying that Christ is the beginning and the end of all things.

A fairly recent addition is the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe (photo at left), who has been designated patroness of the Americas and of the unborn. The parish grounds also include a garden with a shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe, a focus of prayer for prolife causes.

Outside the church building and near the entrance to the Adoration Chapel stands an Italian marble statue of the Virgin and Child (photo at right), dedicated in 2004. Parishioners bring flowers to this place of devotion at the crowning of Mary each May.