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How to Start Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration (Simple Overview)

1. Pray
2. Get approval from your pastor
3. Build a small leadership team
4. Recruit Adorers: Hold a sign-up weekend or campaign
5. Create a weekly schedule of adorers
6. Launch adoration in your parish

Is Your Goal Only an Hour Daily or Few Hours or Shifts a Week?

If you are only planning to start an hour of exposition on one or all days of the week (e.g. before or after Mass or other convenient times) or a few hours or shifts a week or are a very small parish, you could adapt and still basically promote the Eucharist and adoration, announce your Adoration goals, vigourously invite everyone to sign-up (offer hours at times when parishioners can participate), instruct them on how to sign-up,  schedule at least two adorers per hour, publish and promote your hours – see this page: Start & Pray Holy Hours. 

Small Parish?

Parishes that are not large enough to have round the clock Perpetual Adoration can have less (i.e. omit night hours, only schedule hours that people want on the sign-up form) or can join together. One host parish can satisfy the needs of several parishes.  For a sign-up, one person could speak at all of the weekend Masses at the host Parish and at neighbouring parish on the following weekend, or possibly at two parishes on one weekend. Parish clergy can be provided with our sample sign-up sermon or parish laity can deliver the lay appeal we provide.

Photo: sample of chapel seating with bright lighting for reading

Deep Dive Into How to Start Perpetual Adoration

STEP 1: Pray

Ask Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament to intercede for this grace for your parish. Invite others to join you in praying for this intention. Contact us for a Eucharistic Adoration Starter Kit.  Review the materials in the Kit, as well as, the structure and information below.

STEP 2: Obtain Pastoral Approval

Here is a letter of introduction you may want to share with your parish priest to encourage and assist him:  2023 letter for priests. Mainly what is needed for perpetual adoration or extended adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is the pastor’s “Yes” to allowing this in his parish. Under the pastor’s permission, we help establish Adoration so that parish laity will coordinate the adoration chapel or program and usually two adorers, or at least one person, will be scheduled for every hour of exposition. This virtually alleviates extra work for parish priests and staff.  Approach your pastor knowing God is with you.

Our Apostolate would be grateful to assist in establishing more adoration at your parish.  We help to keep the momentum going and ensure that adoration gets established and is well organized. Pastors are amazed to find hundreds of people signing up on at Adoration Sign-Up Weekends. The response from your Sign-Up Weekend and the parish priest’s final decision, will determine the number of days and hours that exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will take place, either round-the-clock or partial (part-time holy hours) perpetual adoration.

One of the reasons that aiming for Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration (PEA) can be best is because people will become aware that adoration is so important that the pastor and parish want to have this taking place around the clock. It is easier to get people committed to PEA than to only having some on First Fridays, because they will see that adoring Jesus is a priority, rather than a rare occasion.  Having an open schedule gives everyone in the parish an opportunity to find a time that suits and is possible for them. “If we aim for perfection, we may at least attain excellence.”

To plan or schedule your sign-up weekend or campaign, to invite a Eucharistic missionary or lay evangelist or to obtain remote assistance, information and materials to start Eucharistic Adoration contact us.

Options:

1. Remote Assistance & Comprehensive Resources: Invite us, to help from a distance/remotely, to organize an adoration Sign-Up weekend/mission/campaign at your parish. Parish clergy can preach the Sign-Up sermon, and/or a parishioner may be able to give an adoration appeal, that we will provide with Sign-Up Instructions. Several sample versions can be provided. At each Mass on the weekend, Invitations to commit to taking a weekly holy hour are handed out to all the faithful, along with pencils, and completed on the weekend. Other sign-up methods such as online form, website, telephone, text message, table, calls to all parishioners etc. could be implemented.  We provide advance instructions, all required organizational documents, resources and follow up. We help to recruit and train a coordinating team of laity from within each parish who will coordinate the adoration.  We can lead or provide detailed instructions for your coordinators’ organizational training meeting by phone, email or video conference or we give you the instructions on how to do this. A team of people are recruited in your parish.  See: Vital Coordinator & Parish Resources.
2. In-person Assistance: Invite us (either Eucharistic clergy where and if available or a lay missionary/speaker) to visit in-person to organize an Adoration Invitation Sign-Up Weekend/mission at your parish and lead your organizational meeting. The rest is the same as option 1.
3. Do It Yourself Resources: Use our comprehensive DIY Sign-Up weekend/campaign Vital Coordinator & Parish Resources. Study and use these materials to organize your own Adoration Sign-Up weekend or campaign. Parish clergy can preach the Sign-Up sermon with the sign-up instructions we provide upon request or a lay person delivers a brief address and the sign-up instructions during Mass at the announcement time after Holy Communion.  Join our coordinator and parish network here. (Alternatively, other local Eucharistic Clergy or laity can speak at your sign-up weekend. Find out if your diocese has appointed a local Eucharistic priest or speaker to help establish adoration in parishes or who is willing to help you to organize your Sign-Up. In 2007, the Congregation for the Clergy proposed that “each diocese appoint a priest who will devote himself full time – as far as possible – to the specific ministry of promoting Eucharistic adoration and coordinating this important service in the diocese”; but unfortunately this is rare due to shortage of priests etc.)

STEP 3: Build A Small Core Leadership Team

Talk and share with others about Eucharistic Adoration! Invite those who are interested to help organize and participate in this mission.  The laity coordinates Adoration. It therefore should not add to the many responsibilities of the pastor and his assistants.  Virtually the only responsibility that the pastor may have is to change the Sacred Host once a month. If your parish priest, like most others, wants to be more involved, great!

The size of your team depends on how large your parish is and how many hours of adoration you will eventually start. Begin with a core team of 1-5 people. In future steps, increase team size as needed and outlined in the chart below. More coordinators will be invited and volunteer to help by checking that section on the sign-up form. You or parish clergy can also personally invite and recruit more before or at the organizational meeting.

Adaptation: Smaller team if not perpetual, if using a digital Adoration scheduling program etc.

Organizational Structure

Parish Priest

COORDINATOR
Organization of program

FOUR DIVISION LEADERS
Morning ~ 6 AM to 12 Noon
Afternoon ~ 12 Noon to 6 PM
Evening ~ 6 PM to 12 Midnight
Night ~ 12 Midnight to 6 AM
Initial scheduling
General oversight of time divisions
Each division leader oversees 6 hourly captains in his time division

24 HOURLY CAPTAINS
Contact Person responsible for one hour ~ 7 days a week
Ensures that the hour is always attended and helps find a substitute, if someone cannot make his or her Holy Hour

STEP 4: Recruit Adorers and More Coordinators

Paper & Pencil Sign-Up Weekends are Efficient and Effective

Various methods and tools to promote and sign-up adorers and recuit adoration coordinators are outlined in our vital coordinator resources. Having a paper and pencil (or card and pen) sign-up weekend has proven to be exceptionally efficient and effective. This method reaches and provides the response of all parishioners at each Mass on that weeked. For the past 50 years, it has been used worldwide by parishes, visiting missionaries and presenters of the Apostolate of Eucharistic Adoration. It enables you to recruit your scheduled adorers, more adoration coordinators and their contact information.

This might help to explain why it is efficient:  if you hand out a deck of 48 cards to parishioners at Mass, and then ask them to put up their hand if they have a card with the suit of a heart, you immediately see the 25% (12) that have hearts. Those are like the people who respond and are scheduled to cover your adoration hours. Alternatively, if instead of just asking them to put up their hand, you made a phone call to try to reach everyone on your parish telephone list (if you have an updated one) to find out who received one of the 12 cards with a heart, imagine the time and effort that method involves.

However, to attain your particular goals, based on your timeline and preference, you are welcome to try other methods mentioned in our resources which have also been effective such as: simply approach parishioners personally until you and your helpers find enough to commit to every hour you want to offer, implement a personal phone calling campaign to every parishioner not sign-up (see sample scripts in our vital resources), direct people to sign-up online etc. If those are unsuccessful or not enough, then you could have your paper and pencil sign-up weekend which will reach and provide the response of all parishioners at once.

Schedule an Adoration Sign-Up Weekend

With your Pastor’s permission, schedule a sign-up weekend.  Ask or invite our apostolate to help you either remotely or in-person. A local Eucharistic or parish clergy, missionary or one of our lay adoration speakers/evangelists (or a local coordinator/adorer after Holy Communion during Mass) will speak at all of the weekend Masses on the benefits of spending time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and invite people to sign up!  (Important: we can provide sample sign-up sermons with the sign-up instructions for parish clergy or otherwise a lay personal sharing with the sign-up instructions to be delivered after Communion during Mass).

To plan or schedule your sign-up weekend or campaign, to invite a Eucharistic missionary or lay evangelist or to obtain remote assistance, information and materials to start Eucharistic Adoration contact us.

Evangelize and Promote Before the Weekend

As outlined in our resources below, do some promotion. We provide you with all of the materials and a suggested timeline in our preparation kit.

Distribute the Invitations (Sign-up forms)

Before the weekend, enough copies of the invitation, from our Kit, should be made so that everyone at the weekend Masses can receive one. After the Adoration homily/talk at Mass, invitations and pencils are distributed by the ushers. Parishioners write their name, telephone number (and email address if they have one) on the invitation.  They also check off the time of day (morning, afternoon, evening or night) that they want to make their Holy Hour.   They may also check a space if they are interested in helping to organize the program.  The invitations are collected after Holy Communion (or at the Offertory) and counted by the Missionary or Coordinator after each Mass.

Assign Division Leaders

The missionary or a coordinator for adoration in your parish sorts the collected invitations into five groups, according to the time-divisions checked off (morning, afternoon, evening, night or not checked off).  The Coordinator needs to make a typed list of all those who have signed up for a Holy Hour (you can use this spreadsheet in our resources.)  Each of the four Division Leaders fills out the hourly schedule for their time division.  They call the people who have signed up to reconfirm their hour and put their name and telephone number on the Division Leader Chart.  Use pencil, because there may be changes before the schedule is complete.

Adaptation:  For a digital format, emails can be made to redirect those who sign up to select an hour online – those who do not do so can be called later to schedule their hours.

STEP 5: Establish the Schedule

Begin by calling the people who specified a day and hour.  Then, call those who offered to make their Holy Hour anytime to fill in the open hours.  The following guidelines are helpful:

•  Thank them for wanting to spend ‘an hour with Jesus’ each week.
• Confirm the day and hour requested, and/or ask whether they would be willing to take an hour that is opened.
• Be encouraging and supportive.  Share with them the many blessings that come from their Holy Hour and that they will look forward to coming each week.
• If there is a need, ask if they would like to be an Hourly Coordinator and/or if they would be willing to take more than one Holy Hour a week.
• Record their address so that a mailing list may be compiled.

Adaptation:  For a digital format, emails can be made to redirect those who sign up to select an hour online – those who do not do so can be called later to schedule their hours.

Adoration Roster Tools

To start a significant number of hours, you may want to use digitial resources (AdorationPro) – fewer adoration coordinators are normally needed. As you can see from the adoration scheduling options in our Vital Coordinator & Parish Resources database, we provide a free Microsoft Excel Schedule of Adorers database (for up to 15 adorers per hour) – Plus Coordinator & 1st Adorer Lists. If you want use more digitization to assist in the organization and regular updating of the schedule, we recommend AdorationPro scheduling software.  Adoration Servants also offers a free system: Adoration Scheduling Software.

Increase your Coordinating Team by Adding Hourly Captains

After the schedule is completed, have typewritten copies made for the Pastor, Coordinator and Adoration Chapel.  The Division Leaders need 24 Hourly Captains to be in charge of each one of the 24 hours of the day throughout the entire week. Each Division Leader will fill out an Hourly Captain Chart for each of the six Hourly Captains in their time division and give a copy to each one.  Each Hourly Captain is the contact person for their Division Leader.

As Hourly Captains, for instance, Joseph will be the Coordinator of the Adorers from 9:00 am to 10am throughout the entire week and Mary will be the Coordinator for the Adorers from the 10am to 11am time slot, etc.  The Hourly Captain will call each Adorer on their list before Adoration begins to tell them the:

• Start date
• Location of chapel
• Parking arrangements
• Location of rest room
• Security arrangements
• Location and use of telephone
• Adorers preceding and following their Holy Hour
• How to obtain a substitute
• Name and phone number of Hourly Captain and Division Leader

Adaptation:  For a digital format, this information can be sent by email, along with instructions on how to obtain a substitute according to the software, so that telephone calls will or may not need to be made. Hourly captains may not be required with a digital online system which takes care of the whole substitution process.

Work Together

The following should be explained to each Adorer:

• The importance of their Holy Hour
• The necessity of signing in and out of the register book so that the Pastor is assured that each hour is covered.
• The Blessed Sacrament should not be left alone.  As Guardians they need to stay until the next Adorer arrives.  Explain the procedure in case of an emergency.
• If an Adorer is unable to keep his or her appointment with Our Lord, they should first contact their prayer partner for that hour.
• If this fails they should try to find a Substitute, then call the Hourly Captain or the Division Leader.

Adaptation:  For a digital format, this information could be sent by email, along with instructions on how to obtain a substitute according to the software, to try to eliminate most telephone calls.

Leadership Meeting

Once the schedule is set, the Division Leaders and Hourly Captains call a meeting to familiarize themselves with their responsibilities and have a clear understanding of their duties. Eucharistic Adoration should begin within two to four weeks after the sign-up weekend.

Location for Eucharistic Adoration

Commonly approved locations for exposition include a chapel that is distinct from the main body of the church and in the main body of the church when Mass, communal Stations of the Cross or other activities are not taking place (Code of Canon Law CIC 941§2).  Since Covid, many parishes began or moved to the main body of the church for more space. It is not necessary to have  separate chapel, especially if you are not having 24 x 7 hours. “The best location for Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration is in a chapel. It creates an atmosphere of quiet and intimacy with Our Lord and can easily be kept warm in the winter. If the church does not have a chapel any small room can be used; a cry room, the altar boys’ sacristy, a room in the rectory. A chapel may be created by an extension outward from the church building or within the confines of the church building.” (Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Handbook Guidelines) 

STEP 6: Launch and Maintain

• We are here to support you.
• Use our resources below.

What the Laity can Do to Evangelize

• Educate yourself about the benefits of and reasons for Perpetual Adoration.
• Talk to the parishioners who have not signed up and invite them to participate in spending one hour each week with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
• Place announcements in parish bulletins.
• Give video presentations on Eucharistic Adoration.
• Have a lending library with books and audios.
• Pass out pamphlets, prayer cards or newsletters.
• Put up some posters.
• Call your friends and invite them and their families to Eucharistic Adoration.
• Make home and neighbouring parish visits.
• Use networking.
• Give presentations to existing organizations in the parish (i.e. Legion of Mary, Altar Rosary Society, Knights of Columbus, St. Vincent de Paul Society, prayer groups etc).
• Ask Adorers, who are already signed up, to take an extra Holy Hour each week.

Vital Coordinator & Parish Resources Database

Eucharistic Adoration Starter Kit & Promotional/Marketing Toolkit (Vital Coordinator & Parish Resources Database & Manual) which is comprised of:

• Preparing for your Sign-Up Weekend (pastor or his delegate and parish secretary’s information kit)
• Invitation to a Weekly Holy Hour (sign-up forms)
• Bulletin announcements
• Pre-evangelization bulletin inserts
• Suggestions and tools for comprehensive pre-evangelization, promotion, marketing
• Ushers/Volunteers Instructions
• Sign-Up Instructions
• Sign-Up pencils in plastic bins (we supply these for proximate sign-ups)
• Organizational Guidelines – Coordinating Team Kit and instructions
• Division Leader Charts
• Hourly Captain Chart
• Daily schedule layout – Adoration Scheduling System and other options
• Substitute Chart
• Personal testimonies of favours granted
• Adorer Information Welcome Kit
• Reasons for Adoration
• More Reasons for PEA
• Perpetual Adoration Objections & Replies
• How PEA Has Benefited Your Life
• The Fruits of PEA
• Adoration Testimonies of Priests
• Ways to attract more adorers
• Templates for flyers to promote your adoration chapel
• Eucharistic posters
• Inspiring Eucharistic Quotes to print in bulletins after the Sign-Up weekend
• For a digital system, adapt the above accordingly.

For a detailed manual with guidelines, please see the section on our website: Coordinator & Parish Resources here.

Good materials for prayer and meditation before the Blessed Sacrament should be made available at the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. We offer Eucharistic printed materials and books in our Shop.

O Come Let Us Adore Him, Jesus Christ, Our Eucharistic Lord! 

CALL TO ACTION

We can help you start perpetual adoration in your parish. Contact us for guidance:

Plan or Schedule your Adoration Sign-Up Weekend/Campaign/Organization Today!