St. Francis Chapel (Colonie, New York)

[11] Like any other store in the mall, they paid rent based on square footage, at retail rates.

Malcolm MacDonald (d. March 2, 1995, age 73, served seventeen years at the chapel[14]), Brother Lawrence McLeod,[15] and Rev.

Mass times at ten minutes after the hour were intended to accommodate store employee lunch or dinner breaks.

Connell Hart, one of the original clerical staff of the chapel, was also director of the Albany Diocese program for the deaf.

Bishop Broderick, D.D., of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, blessed the altar of St. Francis Chapel in a concelebrated dedication Mass.

The bishop commented that while traditional forms of worship like the Rosary, Stations of the Cross, and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament were falling out of favor, it was good to see evidence of them at St. Francis Chapel.

It was estimated that approximately 25,000 people had visited the chapel between its unofficial opening in late December, 1970, and its official dedication.

Fabian Joyce, rector, joked about one of the initial visitors mistaking the chapel for a bank and the priests as tellers.

[11] Despite liquidation sales taking place at Montgomery Ward and other stores exiting the Northway Mall, attendance at the chapel remained strong.

[20] St. Francis Chapel relocated to the Wolf Road Shopper's Park on December 16, 1998,[20][21] when the formerly enclosed Northway Mall was closed in preparation for demolition in 1999.

The new location increased the size of the chapel by about 2,300 square feet (210 m2) and allowed easier parking.