CHILE: More tent chapels after February earthquake
By John Newton
Worshippers on their way to an evening Mass in one of the emergency chapel tents
More tent chapels are bound for Chile thanks to Aid to the Church in Need amid reports that, several months on from the country’s devastating earthquake, services are still being held in the street.
In response to urgent requests, the charity has unveiled plans to provide 39 tent chapels made using iron and waterproof vinyl.
These come in addition to the 15 initially promised after February’s earthquake, which measured 8.8 on the Richter scale and claimed almost 500 lives according to Church sources.
Christiane Raczynski, president of Aid to the Church in Need in Chile, outlined plans to prioritise chapels for those dioceses most affected by the quake, including Rancagua, Talca, Linares, Chillán, Concepción and Los Angeles.
Masses, baptisms and even funerals have been held in the street as up to 80 percent of the churches in areas affected by the earthquake were rendered unusable.
Mrs Raczynski said: “These chapels allow parish priests of churches damaged by the earthquake to welcome and comfort the faithful, while giving them a sign of hope.
“They will give them time to rebuild their churches without taking hasty decisions – as they will need to consider heritage, economic and social factors before reconstruction can take place.”
The first of the new chapels, situated on the site of the ancient Church of the Immaculate Conception in Rancagua, was officially blessed by Bishop Barnabas Silva, Vicar General of Rancagua, on 30th May.
The old church was destroyed during the first quake on 27th February.
During the blessing, parish priest Father Aquiles Correa welcomed Aid to the Church in Need’s initiative, saying: “The pain has been great, but faith and trust in God inspire us to keep walking forwards.
“Thank you for giving this place to us – it will be a place to meet Christ, the cornerstone of our lives, a place for the community to gather and receive the sacraments, a place to keep out the cold and rain.”
The ceremony was attended by Carmelites who gave the church an image of Our Lady, Virgin of Carmen – Chile’s patron saint.
The tent chapels were conceived by Aid to the Church in Need’s Chilean office in collaboration with architect Gonzalo Mardones, who designed them to be easy to assemble.
Each chapel covers an area of 185 square metres (more than 1,990 square feet) and has a seating capacity of 100.