This document proposes establishing a "Chapel of Mercy" - a chapel that offers perpetual Eucharistic adoration and perpetual confession. It would be staffed by retired priests, priests on sabbatical, and embattled priests seeking renewal. The chapel aims to remove practical barriers to confession by being open and accessible 24/7, with a daily confessional schedule and priests living a semi-monastic lifestyle. It hopes to serve local Catholics as well as the 10 million travelers who pass by annually on a nearby interstate. The document provides examples of daily schedules and argues this model could influence evangelization efforts worldwide.

1. Chapel of Mercy
“I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured
person if he has high cholesterol! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk
about everything else.” – Pope Francis

2. We live in a time that cries out for
Divine Mercy…

3. Christ has already given us the tools we need to
accept our salvation: the Seven Sacraments

4. And yet, we don’t use them.
Three-quarters (75%) of Catholics report that they NEVER participate in the
sacrament of Reconciliation or that they do so less than once a year.*
How often, if ever, do you participate in the Sacrament of
Reconciliation or Confession?
* (According to a 2008 study by CARA, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, located at Georgetown University)
2005 2008
Once a month or more 2% 2%
Several times a year 10% 12%
Once a year 14% 12%
Less than once a year 32% 30%
Never 42% 45%

5. In the past twelve years, three Popes have
called attention to this in different ways

6. “Local Ordinaries, and parish priests and
rectors of churches and shrines, should
periodically verify that the greatest
possible provision is in fact being made
for the faithful to confess their sins.”
– Pope John Paul II (April 7, 2002)
Blessed Pope John Paul II

7. “The New Evangelization… begins in the
confessional!”
– Pope Benedict XVI (March 9, 2011)
Pope Benedict XVI

8. And now Pope Francis
“Open the doors of the Church, and then the
people will come in … if you keep the light on
in the confessional and are available, then
you will see what kind of line there is for
confession.”
– Pope Francis (2013, as recounted by Msgr. Enrico Feroci)

9. Everyone needs God’s love and mercy

10. Even the Pope.
Click above to turn on video

11. But there is one problem looming for us…

12. It’s far too difficult to find convenient
times for Confession in America today.

13. Practical Barriers to Confession
•Intimidating
•Inaccessible
•Inconvenient

14. Intimidating
• The very nature of Confession is
intimidating to many people.
• People are often embarrassed
and fearful.
• When people feel this way, they
avoid it.
• We can’t change this fact, but
we can make finding Confession
easier.

15. Inaccessible
• 168 hours in a week
• Typical parish: Offers 2
hours per week
• That’s 1.4% of all the
available hours.
• Therefore 98.6% of the time
Confession is NOT readily
available.

16. Inconvenient
• People have to find and
remember complicated
schedules.
•Sometimes only a start time
is listed.
• Oftentimes the scheduled
times are inconvenient or
impossible to make.

17. There are just too many barriers.
Because the practical barriers to Confession
support the psychological barriers, the people who
need it most are the often the least likely to take
advantage of it.

18. It’s time for us to build a model for the Church
which REMOVES the practical barriers.
If not US, who?
If not NOW, when?

19. It’s Time for Perpetual Confession
• Medicine only works when it
is taken. It does not work
when it sits on the shelf
unused.
• Confession is medicine for
the soul. We have to make it
more available.
• Perpetual Confession is
the solution.

20. Hospitals have Emergency Rooms
• Isn’t the health of one’s soul
even more important than the
health of one’s body?
• Why doesn’t the Church have
spiritual Emergency Rooms!

21. Long Lines and Inconvenient Times
are Discouraging
• A sacrament for healing must
be available as soon as people
need to be healed.
• Inconvenient times and long
lines are not acceptable!
• People need the sacrament at
all hours of the day and night.
• Pope John Paul II said that
Confession availability must be
a top priority in every diocese.

22. Experience gained
from Perpetual
Eucharistic Adoration
• Perpetual Adoration has
exploded in the past 25 years.
• Why? The schedule is
SIMPLE and easy to
remember.
• People no longer have to find
out when it is offered – it is
ALWAYS offered.
• In the course of busy and
hectic lives, this REMOVES a
tremendous BARRIER.

23. Experience gained
from Perpetual
Eucharistic Adoration
• People can pray when they
NEED to pray, when the
Spirit moves them to pray,
even in the MIDDLE OF
THE NIGHT.
• The same principle would
hold true for Perpetual
Confession.

24. Imagine this…
• A beautiful chapel where both Eucharistic Adoration and the
Sacrament of Confession are ALWAYS available.
• 12 retired priests, 4 priests on a normal sabbatical and up to 4 embattled
priests seeking comfort, all living a semi-monastic, sacrament-centered
life with no cumbersome administrative duties.
• All this located in a major population center of the diocese.

25. It gets even better.
• Also located along a major interstate corridor (Indiana Toll Road) with
a traffic count of nearly 10 MILLION vehicles per year.
• That’s over 26,500 vehicles PER DAY.
• Billboards along the Toll Road that catch the eye of long distance
drivers who are often thinking about their lives while they drive by.

26. The Strategy
To make the grace of Sacrament available to people who are already present in the area
just like this priest from Indianapolis!
Click above

27. Approx. 26,500 vehicles per day
Pictured above is the Mishawaka, Indiana, Toll Road Interchange. Exit 83

28. A Chapel of Mercy
A Spiritual Emergency Room
• Main Chapel provides Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration AND Perpetual
Confession
• Open 24/7/52
• Coffee Shop to meet with and provide hospitality to visitors:
- Coffee and simple snacks
- Volunteer staff trained to lead people to conversion (Local parishioners
and college/university students)
- Spiritual reading and audio presentation resources
• Outdoor gardens with Stations of the Cross
• Bell Tower with interiorly illuminated stained glass windows that serves
as a visual invitation to all passersby.

29. Q: How to staff a chapel with Perpetual Confession?
A: A home for retired priests, sabbatical priests, and embattled priests.

30. Retired Priests
• Retiring priests in good health apply for this opportunity
• Chapel of Mercy priests typically spend 2-3 hours each day in the
Confessional
• Live a semi-monastic life of friendship in community
• Sacramental and monastic duties only
• Affordable room and board
• Three year terms (renewable once)
• Classes of 3 or 4 retired priests each year so that 2/3 of the house each year
remains stable

31. Priests on Sabbatical
At least 4 of the 16 priests who live as regular members of the community will
be non-retired priests who are on a sabbatical. Typically, they will stay for 6-
12 months of prayer, study and renewal.

32. Embattled Priests
• With such an abundance of accumulated wisdom, it only makes sense to put this
community also at the service of priests in a vocation crisis.
• As a contribution to the healing of the Church, the Chapel of Mercy Community
will also welcome up to 4 priests who feel embattled and in need of renewal.
• By living among the wisdom of the 16 retired and sabbatical Chapel of Mercy
priests, these embattled priests will have access to great mentors and role
models.
• These priests will live for varying terms and will enter fully into the life of the
community.
• This is NOT a place for priests with criminal problems, significant psychological
problems or addictions.
• This IS a place for priests who are having a crisis of faith, are experiencing
burnout, or are recovering from a traumatic event regardless of whether it was
their own doing.

33. Sample Daily
Schedule
7:00 a.m. Prime (Early Morning Prayer)
and Mass
7:45 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Terce (Mid-Morning Prayer)
9:15 a.m. Work period A
11:15 a.m. End work period A
11:45 a.m. Choir Practice
Noon Sext (Midday Prayer)
12:15 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Work period B
3:00 p.m. End work period B
3:15 p.m. None (Mid-afternoon Prayer
- optional)
3:30 p.m. Work period C
5:30 p.m. End work period C
6:00 p.m. Vespers (Evening Prayer)
6:15 p.m. Dinner and Communal
Recreation
8:30 p.m. Compline (Night Prayer)
Communal Life is structured but
relaxed. Communal prayers are
offered daily. Breakfast and Dinner
are full of casual conversation. Sacred
Silence is kept from Terce until None.
Each priest contributes to one 2 hour
work period per day (Either A, B or
C). In addition, each priest also takes
at least two 1 hour shifts in the
confessional daily. Some will take 3
shifts during peak periods.

34. Sample
Confessional
Schedule
• Midnight A1
• 1:00 a.m. B2
• 2:00 a.m. C3
• 3:00 a.m. D4
• 4:00 a.m. F5
• 5:00 a.m. G6 N13
• 6:00 a.m. H7 O14
• 7:00 a.m. I8 P15
• 8:00 a.m. J9 Vol
• 9:00 a.m. K10 Vol
• 10:00 a.m. L11 Vol
• 11:00 a.m. M12 Vol
• Noon A1
• 1:00 p.m. B2 Q16
• 2:00 p.m. C3
• 3:00 p.m. D4
• 4:00 p.m. F5 N13
• 5:00 p.m. G6 O14
• 6:00 p.m. H7 P15
• 7:00 p.m. I8 Q16
• 8:00 p.m. J9 Vol
• 9:00 p.m. K10 Vol
• 10:00 p.m. L11
• 11:00 p.m. M12
• Vol = volunteer
• Floaters / Substitutes = Guest Priests
In each Confessional is a
communication system where a priest
who notices a people waiting can call
for back-up. Some times of the day
will require two priests due to
demand. Some bedrooms look into the
chapel so that many people are
keeping an eye on it at all times.
There is a balcony walkway all the
way around the interior of the chapel
on the second floor. Hearing
Confessions takes priority over any
other house duty.

35. Come Holy Spirit!
• This apostolate, besides touching thousands upon thousands of souls, could
have a worldwide influence on the Church by serving as a model for
effective evangelization and service.
• It would greatly benefit the people of the Diocese of Fort Wayne – South
Bend
• It would serve the 10 million travelers who pass through our diocese on the
Indiana Toll Road every year.
Estimated Start-Up Cost is under $7 million!
To Inquire please contact:
Robert Kloska
(574) 274-9744
rlkloska@gmail.com