6/18/2009
New icon is central to chapel improvements
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| New icon is central to chapel improvements |
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Ed Langlois
A new icon of Christ the Healer is the center of improvements planned for St. Vincent de Paul Church in Portland, a place better known as the Downtown Chapel.
The small church, with an active daily ministry of hospitality to homeless and low-income residents of Old Town, is sprucing up the worship space to enhance the sense of welcome. The mission of the chapel has long been to “bring healing to the heart of the city.”
“Improving the space will make it more hospitable,” says Holy Cross Father Bob Loughery, the church’s pastor. “It should be an even more inviting space to be shared with people who come to the building for help, our neighbors and those who come to worship.”
The 3-by-4-foot icon was written (they are “written” not “painted,” in reference to their link to the word of God) by Father Jon Buffington, a chaplain at Providence Portland Medical Center and a priest in both the Latin and Chaldean Catholic rites.
A graceful figure of Jesus looks directly at the viewer. The Burnside Bridge frames the scene and the Willamette River churns below. To the left of Christ is Mary Magdalene holding healing oils. Behind her are seven small demons, helter-skelter because Christ has just cast them out into the desert. To the right of Jesus is a gray-haired beggar.
Parishioners have seen the icon and like it. The small black demons being whirled away into the desert may have special meaning for the many mentally ill worshipers.
Inside, the white and wood look that served for years will be replaced by colors, which will create the feel of differentiated, more intimate spaces. The carpet will be taken up and replaced by a polished and perhaps stained concrete floor. New light fixtures will hang down along the side of the prayer space to create a connection to the high ceiling.
New carved wood stations will line the wall that faces the muffled hum of traffic.
A new baptismal font will stand near the door of this church, which is frequented by downtown professionals, homeless people and mental patients alike.
The current plans take into account energy conservation, for example, using energy efficient lighting. Father Loughery dreams that one day the chapel will be topped with solar panels.
The prayer space gets a lot of respect. The chapel is open each day starting at 11 a.m. After noon Mass, it remains open again until 1 p.m.
Most of the time, no one goes in to sleep or talk. It’s for prayer and it’s almost never empty during open hours.
On the chapel exterior, work calls for larger, lit signs, a cross and a canopy for the church, which sits on bustling Burnside Street and the Sixth Avenue bus mall. Soon, the thousands of commuters who pass each day will be in no doubt about the building’s Catholic identity.
The Portland Development Commission gave a grant for part of the exterior work. Donations and savings are paying for the rest. When all is done, the cost of improvements inside and outside will total about $225,000.
Work begins June 22. While improvements are underway, Mass will be held on the second floor of the former hotel. The gathering room there, which holds 180 people, has already had a makeover, with colorful paint and concrete.
Dedication is set for 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, with Archbishop John Vlazny presiding. Theme of the day will be healing.
The liturgy may include a procession with the icon around the neighborhood, which includes many low-cost residence hotels.
The chapel is a training ground for nursing students, interns and volunteers, including many from the University of Portland.
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