About Grand Rapids Home for Veterans · Grand Rapids, Michigan
The Grand Rapids Home for Veterans Chapel is a Roman Catholic chapel serving the residents (members) of Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids, a state-operated long-term care facility located on 90 wooded acres along the Grand River. The chapel brings the sacraments — especially the Eucharist — directly to Michigan veterans who live on the campus, under the pastoral care of the Diocese of Grand Rapids. Catholic Mass is celebrated on-site, typically on Sunday and Wednesday mornings at 9:00 AM, so that veterans who might otherwise be unable to attend a parish church can continue to participate regularly in the sacraments. Pastoral and sacramental ministry is provided by a priest-chaplain appointed by the diocese alongside the Home's broader interfaith chaplaincy team.
- Established
- 1885 (Michigan Soldiers' Home / predecessor of Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids)
- Rector
- Rev. Peter G. Vu (Catholic chaplain, pastor of Saint Mary Magdalen Parish, Kentwood — as of 2021; current assignment to be confirmed)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Grand Rapids
Why belong here
The Grand Rapids Home for Veterans Chapel exists to make the Eucharist and the sacraments accessible to the men and women who served in our armed forces and who now make their home at Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids. For residents who can no longer easily travel to a parish church, Sunday and Wednesday Mass on-site — celebrated by a priest-chaplain appointed by the Diocese of Grand Rapids — keeps them connected to the wider Catholic community and to the rhythm of the liturgical year. The chapel is also a place of remembrance, hosting patriotic and commemorative services such as the annual Pearl Harbor Day observance that has been held in the chapel for over a quarter-century.
Mass times at Grand Rapids Home for Veterans
Weekly Mass schedule
About the Chapel and the Home
The Grand Rapids Home for Veterans Chapel is the Catholic worship space inside Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids (MVHGR), a state long-term care facility for Michigan veterans. The Home sits on 90 wooded acres along the Grand River and was originally established in 1885 as the Michigan Soldiers' Home to serve veterans returning from the Civil War. A completely new MVHGR campus was built on the same grounds and now includes 128 private resident rooms in four 'neighborhood' buildings, a 33,000-square-foot community center, a multi-faith prayer room, walking paths and gardens, plus an on-site cemetery. The Catholic chapel, served by a priest-chaplain appointed by the Diocese of Grand Rapids, exists so that the residents (called 'members') can continue to receive the sacraments without leaving the campus.
- Type: Catholic chapel within a state veterans' long-term care facility
- Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids
- Campus: Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids (MVHGR)
- Campus history: established 1885 as Michigan Soldiers' Home
History
Michigan's Soldiers' Home opened on this Grand Rapids site in 1885 to care for Civil War veterans and grew over the decades into a long-term care home for Michigan's military veterans. Through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries it offered general nursing care, rehabilitation, dementia and memory care, palliative care, an in-house pharmacy, dental and vision clinics, and a full pastoral-care department. A modern replacement facility — Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids — was built on the same 90-acre property and now anchors four residential 'neighborhood' buildings and a large community center. Within that long continuum of care, the Catholic chapel has provided Mass, the sacraments, and pastoral presence for generations of veterans.
- 1885 — Michigan Soldiers' Home established on the Grand Rapids site
- Soldiers' Home Cemetery established for veterans and dependents
- Modern era — Grand Rapids Home for Veterans (GRHV) operated on the grounds
- New Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids (MVHGR) campus built on the same 90 acres
- Father Ernest Bernott served as Catholic chaplain and retired from that role on April 5, 2015
Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy
Spiritual care on campus is shared between a priest-chaplain appointed by the Diocese of Grand Rapids and a full-time ecumenical chaplain on the Home's staff. The priest-chaplain celebrates Catholic Mass and brings the sacraments to the members, while the staff chaplain (Bruce Kalish, DMin, BCC ret., on staff since September 2012) provides emotional and spiritual support to members, families and staff, especially at times of loss, grief and crisis, and as part of an interdisciplinary care team.
- Rev. Peter G. Vu — Catholic chaplain (also pastor of Saint Mary Magdalen Parish, Kentwood)
- Rev. Ernest Bernott — retired Catholic chaplain, served until April 5, 2015
- Bruce Kalish, DMin, BCC (ret.) — ecumenical chaplain since 2012; solo chaplain from 2021; reduced to part-time hours in 2024
Mass and Sacramental Schedule
Catholic Mass is celebrated in the chapel on Sunday and Wednesday mornings at 9:00 AM. Schedules can change with COVID-19-era adjustments and staffing changes, so visitors and family members are encouraged to call the Home to confirm current times before visiting.
- Sunday Mass — 9:00 AM
- Wednesday Mass — 9:00 AM
- Language: English
- Confession and adoration times are not published online; arrange with the chaplain
Commemorative and Veterans' Services
The chapel is also used as a gathering place for patriotic and veterans' commemorative services. The most long-running of these is the annual Pearl Harbor Day observance held every December 7 inside the chapel; by 2016 it had been held continuously for 27 years. The Home also hosts an annual Memorial Day tribute on its grounds, at which both the staff chaplain and the Catholic priest-chaplain typically offer remarks.
- Pearl Harbor Day (December 7) service — held annually in the chapel for 27+ years (as of 2016)
- Memorial Day tribute — remarks by both chaplains, rifle salute, Taps, color guard
- Other veterans' events coordinated by Home staff and chaplaincy team
Pastoral Programs and Outreach
Beyond the sacraments, the chaplaincy team runs several ministry programs that touch nearly every dimension of life at the Home — from end-of-life companionship to clinical training for future chaplains. These programs reflect the Home's wider pastoral-care mission to support members, families and staff through grief, crisis and the transitions of long-term care.
- 'No Member Dies Alone' (NMDA) — bedside presence program for members who are actively dying; co-developed by Chaplain Bruce Kalish; received the Michigan Veterans' Affairs Agency coin, February 2015
- Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) — chaplain mentored CPE interns as CPE site supervisor
- Spiritual, social, recreational and educational activities coordinated with the pastoral-care team
The Campus and Facilities
The MVHGR campus combines a wooded, landscaped setting near the Grand River with a fully modern care facility. Members live in private bedrooms and bathrooms inside four 'neighborhood' buildings, each with shared kitchen, dining and living spaces. The 33,000-square-foot community center brings together administrative offices, occupational and physical therapy spaces, a multi-faith prayer room, café and bistro, barbershop, beauty parlor, multi-purpose rooms, and a large gathering space for full-membership and community events. All buildings are connected by heated and air-conditioned corridors so members can move about indoors year-round.
- 90 wooded and landscaped acres near the Grand River
- 128 private bedrooms with private bathrooms
- 4 'neighborhood' buildings, each ~29,000 sq ft, 32 members per building
- 33,000-sq-ft community center with café, therapy spaces, and multi-faith prayer room
- On-site cemetery for veterans and dependents who pass away in the Home's care
Visiting and Contact
Because the chapel is inside a state-operated long-term care facility, visits are governed by the Home's general visitor policy. Family members and visitors are encouraged to call ahead to confirm current Mass times and to arrange access to the chapel, especially for confession or anointing of the sick.
- Address: 2950 Monroe Avenue NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505
- Diocese: Diocese of Grand Rapids
- Listed phone numbers: (616) 364-5323 and (616) 345-6107
- Official state website: michigan.gov/mvh/locations/grand-rapids
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Ernest BernottUntil retirement April 5, 2015
Appointed Chaplain of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans after retirement from active parish/administrator duties; retired from this chaplaincy on April 5, 2015. Died 2024 at age 98.
- Rev. Peter G. VuAt least 2021–present (as documented)
Catholic chaplain of MVHGR; pastor of Saint Mary Magdalen Parish, Kentwood. Identified as chaplain of MVHGR in the May 2021 Memorial Day tribute.