Chapel of Our Lady of Nazareth along the Belém-Brasília Highway in Brazil. Photo credit: Red Marajo

Brasília: Rede Marajo, a major highway gas station chain in Brazil is building chapels for the Blessed Sacrament on the country’s highways to be an “oasis” for travelers.

Janeth Vaz, director of Rede Marajo, said that the chain has built seven chapels at its stations with the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle because “faith is the first value of our company, ACI Digital, CNA’s Portuguese-language sister news agency reported.”

Although it’s normal for travelers to stop at a service station or gas station to fill the tank of their vehicle, eat something, or rest, in Brazil, there are some stations that have chapels where travelers can adore the Blessed Sacrament, go to confession, and attend Mass.

Vaz said that “having the chapel is a privilege, but having the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel is a great blessing.”

“The heart of Marajó is the chapel and we know that the One who is in the chapel is the Blessed Sacrament,” she said.

“Today we have seven chapels, but we want to continue building where there are none ... so the Blessed Sacrament can be there,” because it makes “a very big difference,” she said.

Rede Marajó has more than 30 years of experience and describes itself as the “only one” that serves the entire 1,200-mile-long Belém-Brasília Highway, which takes an average of 30 hours’ driving time to cover. In addition, the gas station chain is “the largest Shell distributor” in the country.

Currently, the chain has 19 stations in the states of Pará, Tocantins, Goiás, Mato Grosso, and Minas Gerais.

Vaz said that she comes from a Catholic family that attended Mass “sporadically” but after participating in a charismatic renewal group, she “fell in love” with the Catholic Church.

She added that today she is a great devotee of the Virgin Mary and that although her husband “resisted” at the beginning is now the greatest promoter of the effort to build chapels.