The Cure de Ars told the story of one of his parishioners who often spent hours on his knees in church in the presence of the exposed Holy Eucharist.

Wondering what prayers might emanate from this poor, illiterate peasant, St. John Marie-Vianney asked him, 'What do you say to Jesus all that time?' 'Nothing,' was the reply. 'I just look at Him, and He looks at me.'

The concept of intimate communion with Jesus present in the exposed Blessed Sacrament, embodied in this simple yet profound statement, is the core of the perpetual adoration devotion begun two years ago at St. Mary's Church in Annapolis.

In a small chapel underneath the sacristy, St. Mary's parishioners maintain a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week vigil of prayer and adoration before the exposed Holy Eucharist. It is the first and so far the only perpetual adoration chapel in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

In November of 1993 Joyce Dick returned with her husband to Maryland from a 12-year sojourn in Gulfport, Mississippi. Left behind, at her parish church, St. James, was a perpetual adoration chapel. Though it was only a month old, she missed it terribly. 'I missed Jesus,' she explained. 'You had such a private, one-on-one devotion; it was such an intimate devotion to the Lord.'

At St. Mary's in Annapolis, Joyce ran into an old friend, Pat Evans, and told her about the small Mississippi chapel.

Historic St. Mary's Church is a large, busy parish, with 15 masses on weekends and a multitude of weddings, funerals and other activities throughout the week. 'I was so pleased when Joyce told me about the chapel,' said Pat. 'What attracted me is that it would be a quiet place--that you would be close to the exposed Eucharist.'

In September, 1994, Pat, a member of the Parish Council, took Joyce to a council meeting, where Mrs. Dick told of her experiences with a perpetual adoration chapel and proposed one for St. Mary's.

Some were hesitant about such a commitment. St. Mary's had had First Friday adoration after 8 a.m. Mass since 1989, and it was scantily attended.

The council, at the suggestion of their pastor, Fr. Thomas Siconolfi, voted to let the parishioners themselves decide. If 300 or more people would commit to one hour of devotion a week, they would go ahead with the project.

In October, 1995, Fr. Victor Warkulwicz, of the Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament, came and preached at all the Masses about setting up a chapel. He arrived at a propitious time. 'Without realizing it, we had set up his visit the week after the Pope came to Baltimore,' said Joyce. 'He was gentle, soft-spoken, low-key,' said Pat. 'He kept saying how Jesus misses us, and wants us to be there with Him.'

Over 800 people signed up, pledging to keep vigil one hour a week or to serve as a substitute.

In the meantime, Pat, Joyce and others had been puzzling where the chapel would be. They had no idea where to put it, as seemingly every inch of space in the parish was already in use.

Then Henry Robert, the church sacristan, thought of the old storage room beneath the sacristy. Once it had been used as a crypt for the remains of more than 20 Redemptorist priests and brothers who had served St. Mary's, which was built in 1858. Eventually, their remains were moved to a cemetery behind the historic Carroll House, which is part of church property.

An anonymous donor provided the money to renovate the old storeroom, which measures a compact 15-by-17 feet. Pipes and electrical wiring were concealed behind drywall and plaster, painted a stark, convent-white. The original, uneven brick flooring and the exposed brick outside wall remained unadorned.

The chapel opened on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 14, 1996.

Joyce is in charge of scheduling the 'adorers.' She tries to see that two people are scheduled for each hour.

Besides the regular vigilists, there are often 'walk-ins' during the day. Sometimes as many as a dozen people fill up the three small pews before the simple altar on which the Holy Eucharist is displayed. 'It's a sacrifice for people to come at night,' Joyce acknowledged. 'It's mostly men, but quite a few women come too--one is 75 years old.' A combination lock on the door ensures security between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Through attrition, the scheduled adorers presently number about 330. Fr. Patrick Lynch, a missionary Redemptorist stationed at St. Mary's, was scheduled to give an invitational talk in September to increase that number. 'You just need 168 people for perpetual adoration, but if you want to have partners, you have to double that number,' explained Pat.

The chapel's sign-up book contains a 'Thanksgiving for favors received' section, in which people have recorded their thanks for physical healing, employment, family peace restored, and the return of fallen-away Catholics. 'I think there's tremendous grace in the exposed Eucharist,' said Pat. 'You're eyeball to eyeball. When you expose the Eucharist, graces will flow.'

Fr. Warkulwicz estimated that more than 500 churches are currently engaged in perpetual adoration, a practice strongly advocated by Pope John Paul II, who established perpetual adoration at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in 1981.

Preparation is underway for such a chapel at Immaculate Conception Church in Towson.

Pat and Joyce are willing to help anyone interested in starting perpetual adoration at their own church. 'If anyone wants information, we will go anywhere; we know how to do it,' said Pat.