About St. Joseph · Freeport, Illinois
The St. Joseph Chapel in Freeport, Illinois is the on-site Catholic chapel inside Presence Saint Joseph Center, a skilled nursing and senior living facility operated by Presence Health (now part of Ascension) at 659 East Jefferson Street. Known locally as Sacred Heart Chapel, it serves the spiritual life of the center's residents — a Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home with a capacity of 124, an adult day center, and programming for individuals with developmental disabilities. The Diocese of Rockford lists the facility among its health-care institutions, and local parish priests celebrate Mass there for residents and visitors, with special liturgical events such as the Bishop's healing Mass and Holy Hours of Eucharistic Adoration.
- Patron
- Saint Joseph
- Diocese
- Diocese of Rockford
Why belong here
The chapel offers Catholic residents of Presence Saint Joseph Center a regular place for Mass, Eucharistic Adoration and healing services right where they live, supported by local parish priests from the Freeport Catholic community. It is also a place of pilgrimage for area faithful: a Holy Hour and Healing Service with the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was hosted there, and the chapel continues to host periodic days of prayer and devotion open to the wider community.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Adoration times
- Periodic Holy Hours and Healing Services with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament (announced via local parishes such as St. Joseph & St. Mary)
Sacred Heart Chapel at Presence Saint Joseph Center
Sacred Heart Chapel is the Catholic worship space located inside Presence Saint Joseph Center, a skilled nursing facility on East Jefferson Street in Freeport, Illinois. The chapel serves the residents of the nursing home and adult day center and is supported by priests from the local Catholic parishes in Freeport. Periodic Masses, Holy Hours, healing services and Anointing of the Sick are celebrated in the chapel, with liturgical ministers often drawn from St. Joseph and St. Mary parishes as well as St. Thomas Aquinas.
- Located within Presence Saint Joseph Center, 659 E. Jefferson St., Freeport, IL 61032
- Known as Sacred Heart Chapel
- Part of the Diocese of Rockford's health-care institutions
History of the Chapel
The Presence Saint Joseph Center traces its roots to the Provena Health system, a Catholic health-care ministry founded by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis. Sacred Heart Chapel inside the facility was the original home of Freeport Perpetual Adoration, which began at what was then Provena St. Joseph Center before moving to St. Thomas Aquinas Church in December 2000. The center has been a Medicare and Medicaid participant since March 14, 1997, and was renamed when Provena became Presence Health and later joined Ascension Living.
- Originally Provena St. Joseph Center; became Presence Saint Joseph Center; now Ascension Living
- Birthplace of Freeport Perpetual Adoration (before Dec. 2000)
- Medicare/Medicaid participant since March 14, 1997
Bishop's Healing Mass — February 11, 2016
On the World Day of the Sick during the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Bishop David Malloy of the Diocese of Rockford celebrated a special healing Mass and the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick in the Presence Saint Joseph Center chapel. About a dozen wheelchair-bound residents received the anointing, and after Mass the bishop visited Presence Saint Joseph residents who were unable to attend. Concelebrants and assisting clergy included Deacon Tom McKenna, Father Timothy Barr of St. Mary's in Freeport, and Father Ken Anderson of St. Thomas Aquinas in Freeport.
- Bishop David Malloy, Diocese of Rockford, principal celebrant
- Father Timothy Barr (St. Mary's, Freeport)
- Father Ken Anderson (St. Thomas Aquinas, Freeport)
- Deacon Tom McKenna
- Administrator: Michelle Lindeman
Our Lady of Fatima Holy Hour
Sacred Heart Chapel hosted a Holy Hour and Healing Service while the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was present. The statue — crafted in 1947 by an American Dominican priest commissioned by Cardinal Spellman of New York, shaped according to Sister Lucia's own description of the apparitions, and blessed by Pope Pius XII — was venerated by local faithful during the prayer service, which included exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction, and individual blessing for healing.
- Begins at 3 p.m. (the hour of Jesus' death on the Cross)
- Includes exposition, Benediction and individual blessing
- International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima venerated
The Facility: Presence Saint Joseph Center
Presence Saint Joseph Center is a 124-bed skilled nursing facility offering independent and assisted living, nursing care, adult day care, hospice, respite care, skilled nursing rehabilitation, supportive living, and a community living facility for individuals with developmental disabilities. It is Medicare- and Medicaid-certified, has been participating since 1997, and offers residents an on-site chapel, free parking, peaceful gardens, an outdoor patio, beauty/barber services, and a full schedule of religious services.
- 659 E. Jefferson Street, Freeport, IL 61032
- Phone: (815) 232-6181
- Licensed for 124 nursing-home residents
- Senior day center and programs for individuals with developmental disabilities
- On-site chapel, free parking, gardens, beauty/barber services
Spiritual Care and Visiting Clergy
Because the chapel is part of a residential health-care facility rather than a territorial parish, it does not have a resident pastor of its own. It is supported by priests and deacons from the surrounding Catholic parishes of the Diocese of Rockford — most often from St. Mary, St. Joseph and St. Thomas Aquinas in Freeport — who celebrate Mass and bring the sacraments to the residents.
Diocesan Affiliation
The Presence Saint Joseph Center and its chapel are listed by the Diocese of Rockford among the Catholic health-care institutions and retirement facilities in the diocese, alongside other Presence Health and Monroe Clinic facilities in the region.
- Diocese of Rockford
- Bishop David J. Malloy
- Diocesan offices at 555 Colman Center Drive, Rockford, IL 61108 (815-399-4300)
Visiting the Chapel
The chapel is primarily a place of worship for the residents of Presence Saint Joseph Center. Periodic liturgies — including Holy Hours, healing services, and special Masses such as the Bishop's annual visit — are announced through local parishes (notably St. Joseph and St. Mary in Freeport) and are open to the wider Catholic community. Visitors are encouraged to coordinate with the facility before attending.