CHARLOTTE — Father Joseph Matlak discovered something surprising last summer: the chapel at Holy Trinity Middle School where he serves as chaplain had never been officially named a permanent chapel.
He made this discovery with the help of the Diocese of Charlotte archives department, and then requested to have the 27-year-old chapel formally dedicated.
The efforts culminated in a Jan. 31 Mass and chapel blessing, aptly timed for the middle of Catholic Schools Week. Twenty-five students in the school’s Little Flower, Knights of Saint Joseph and Pro-Life clubs gathered with officials from the diocesan schools office and Holy Trinity administrators to mark the occasion.
Father Matlak celebrated the Mass and blessed the chapel with Father Timothy Reid, the diocese’s Vicar of Education for Catholic Schools, and Father Christopher Roux, rector of St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, concelebrating. Also assisting was Deacon Peter Tonon of St. Ann Church in Charlotte.
“By the bishop's decree, Holy Trinity’s chapel has been dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, and Bishop Jugis has delegated me to bless the chapel,” Father Matlak said.
Principal Kevin Parks said no funds were required to complete the blessing and official dedication to Our Lady of Fatima, adding that there are plans to use school funds to replace the flooring and paint the chapel in the spring.
Father Matlak and Holy Trinity theology teacher Shane Sayre composed a special prayer for the occasion that ends with an invocation to Our Lady of Fatima.
In his homily, Father Matlak shared the significance of the concluding line of the prayer and the connections between Our Lady and the Holy Trinity.
“Ending a prayer with an invocation of the Mother of God is not simply a flowery decoration. God decided to become incarnate, to come into the world, through Mary, which means that every way to return to Him must also somehow go through her,” he said.
“Our chapel is being dedicated to the Blessed Virgin under the title of Our Lady of Fatima, referring, of course, to the apparitions of Our Lady to the three shepherd children, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, in Fatima, Portugal in 1917.”
Father Matlak said he was slightly biased by this, being half Portuguese and coming from a family that has experienced miracles through devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. However, the appropriateness of the title and connection with the school runs much deeper, he added.
“My first year as chaplain coincided with the 100th anniversary of the apparitions in Fatima,” he said. “On May 13, 2017, I consecrated the school to her Immaculate Heart with a prayer that ended with these words: May the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, together with your reign, enter this school … so that, we may one day deserve eternal happiness in the presence of the Holy Trinity.”
Father Matlak’s words resonated with Superintendent Dr. Greg Monroe, who was present for the Mass and blessing.
“We're trying to get closer to God in everything we do in the schools,” he said. “This chapel dedication provides a focal point and a continuing orientation toward those things which are most important: our faith and coming together as a Catholic community to support each other and push each other to excel.”
—Annie Ferguson. Photos by Troy Hull.
Holy Trinity Chapel Prayer
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us!
O Lady, who appeared to the three children at Fatima, hear our plea this day as we ask you to pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amidst the turbulence and fear facing the world around them, you were sent by God to bring to these children a message of peace and hope. You charged us, your faithful children, to be the bearers of these fruits through repentance and renewed devotion to the fruit of your womb, your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We dedicate this chapel to you and to your Immaculate Heart, as the beginning of that renewal and repentance. We dedicate this sacred space as a haven for the faithful—a refuge for the exile—to escape the wickedness and anxieties that the world seeks to burden us with. Wrap us in your maternal mantle of prayer as we strive to be liberated from the shackles of attachments; attachments that seek to distract us and drive us away from the source of our true freedom, our Lord Jesus Christ. Let this sacred space bring this peace and hope to all those who enter. Let them become a vessel and channel of peace and hope as they face the evils within this world. Let the graces that flow from the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar console the hearts of your children who long to see the face of your Son. Let them become temples of the Holy Spirit as He is poured out from their hearts and unto the hearts of those that they encounter. And let the blessings of Fatima radiate from this humble chapel to convert the whole world back to our Lord Jesus Christ.
To You, O Blessed Trinity, be praise, and honor, and thanksgiving, for ever and ever! Amen.
— Father Joseph Matlak and Shane Sayre
