Have you ever visited the largest monstrance in the world?
The Eucharistic monstrance, “Our Lady of the Sign – Ark of Mercy,” resides in Saint Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church, or the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Chicago, Ill.
The monstrance is believed to be the largest in the world in overall size.
It depicts Our Lady of the Sign with the Eucharist on her heart. She sits atop a moon and an ark. Two angels kneel next to her worshipping the Eucharistic Jesus.
In the film “Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Eucharist,” independent Hollywood producer and philanthropist Oscar Delgado explains this phenomenon.
Delgado helps build many Eucharistic adoration chapels around the world. He also helped build this one!
“It’s the biggest monstrance in the world because it’s from angel to angel–the overall size,” Delgado told ChurchPOP. “It’s not just the height, but also the width. It’s the square footage.”
The monstrance’s design is based on Revelation 12. Delgado said they wanted to combine both the text of Revelation and Our Lady of the Sign.
“Our Lady of the Sign, which is very important in terms of scripture, points everything to Jesus,” Delgado explained. “Then the Ark of Mercy. She [Our Lady] is the Ark of Mercy. He [Jesus] is the Ark of Mercy. So we put everything together.”
The parish completed the monstrance in May 2008 and has remained open 24/7 for perpetual Eucharistic adoration ever since. (Excluding the 2020 pandemic restrictions for a brief period.)
“It’s just an incredible experience for people when they get in there. They can feel the presence of Our Lord…and the presence of Our Lady there,” Delgado continued. “It’s good because it brings us back to Jesus. It just shows the beauty of everything put together.”
