Update as of Nov 26th, 2023 – The selected repose has been revitalized and has been moved to a central position behind the altar. The tabernacle was moved and placed upon the new repose after 8am Mass on Wednesday, November 22nd. This position is to be the final and distringuished resting place for our Blessed Lord.
A sincere thank you to all who helped in the restoration of the repose and to move the Tabernacle.
Update as of Oct 29th, 2023 – A repose has been selected for the St. Ann Tabernacle. Once the new repose has it’s final finishings, the Tabernacle will be placed upon the new repose behind the Altar. This move is expected before Thanksgiving, Novemeber 23rd.
Oct 22, 2023 – I was asked to clarify and provide some reasoning behind the decision to move the tabernacle, especially in light of last week’s article of observation. It appears some believe moving the tabernacle to be a severe and sweeping change. Some even feel hurt by this decision. For that I apologize. I should have expressed the reasoning earlier,
and I thought it was evident. I did this after consulting prior pastors as well as some parishioners, and the Office of Worship for the Archdiocese. Based on Canon 938, Paragraph
2, of the Code of Canon Law, the tabernacle should be in a ‘distinguished’ place which is ‘conspicuous, suitably adorned and conducive to prayer.’ The pastor, or administrator, has
to ask if the tabernacle is in such a place. That’s not to say the current location does not meet these directives, but I don’t think it is in the most distinguished place in the Sanctuary.
The location of the tabernacle should be the focal for all to be drawn. It should be centralized because it houses the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Blessed Lord. He should be the center of our worship. Right now, it seems He is not. There is also, and always have been, an intimate relationship between the tabernacle and the altar (ref. Pope Pius XII, Address to the International Congress on Pastoral Liturgy on the Liturgical Movement, II, 2. “Præsentia Christi“ which is also present in the documents of Vatican II and other papal exhortations. For a very good article, I’d recommend reading Bishop Paprocki’s Pastoral Letter to his diocese of Springfield, IL: Ars Celebrandi et Adorandi: on proper Eucharistic Celebration and Adoration.