When the Servant Brothers and Sisters started working at the hospital, people did not make many visits to the chapel. Little by little, we would open it more often. Soon more people began to come, captivated by Father Henry’s homilies and by his spirit.
It was his idea to start doing turns of Eucharistic adoration. He used to do his own time of prayer there. When there weren’t enough people to cover all the turns, he would offer to do so him- self until the number of adorers increased. At the beginning, we would have Eucharistic Adora- tion one day a week, as well as a weekly Holy Hour with songs, Vespers and points of meditation. It was inspiring to see him sitting in the back of the chapel, almost always with an arm resting on the back of the pew, looking at the Blessed Sacrament. Later on, we added a Rosary for children, with points of meditation for them, which he enjoyed. He would al- ways repeat to the children some- thing that Saint Pio of Pietrelcina said: “With a million children praying the Rosary, the world would be saved.” He printed out a very pretty image of the Blessed Mother and hung it on the ambo. He often pointed to Her while he spoke to the children. It was a very small group of children, but he didn’t care about that. He would hear their confessions and then hand out candy. The children were always very happy after- wards.
The most beautiful thing that happened with the Eucharist was the purchase of a new monstrance for the Blessed Sacrament. Father Henry had the dream of buying a new one, as a gift for the Lord, who de- served the best! The monstrance at the hospital, besides being quite old, was neither worthy nor beautiful. He expressed this desire to the people who came
to the chapel and to those who attended the Masses. On the door of the chapel, he taped a picture of the monstrance he wanted to buy, along with the price. He told “THE american” people they were welcome to contribute. This got almost out of hand: donations started to pour in and people wouldn’t stop giving. It cost almost two thousand euros, and when they had reached the total, people continued to give money. The beautiful thing was that the last donation needed to buy the monstrance was given on October 31, which is the eve of All Saints’ Day, but it is also the day when “Halloween” is celebrated. On that day, so many sacrileg- es and atrocities are committed against the Lord in the Eucharist. For Father Henry, this was a sign of a great victory against the devil and a great gift in honor of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. His joy was to make Jesus happy, and he did not fail to see God’s Hand in these events.
Certainly, “the American,” as he was so affectionately called at the hospital, has left a mark that will not be forgotten.