Thomas Schittek is a German artist living in Portugal who works mainly in ceramics. Representing the Elements of Life on this planet is a common theme in his work. For some time he had an ambition to create a Chapel open to the Light of the Sun right on the equator where this theme would relate to sunlight from above rather than in shadow as it would be at any other latitude.

Thomas met John & Helen McCarrick and mentioned his ambition. They were involved with Fr J Jones a Missionary priest from Ireland who worked in Subukia and was the first rector of the Shrine. The result was that Thomas came to Subukia and with the agreement of the current rector identified a site and began the process of funding, getting sponsors and raising the finance to make his dream a reality.

The site picked itself with the help of two phenomena

- A circular rainbow formed over the spot

- The nave of the Chapel lies along the precise line of the equator.

Thomas and his team of local workers spent 90 days building the columnar chapel, positioning every one of the ceramic tiles and creating the path leading to the Chapel .

It is a Chapel of Light drawing attention to the magnificent confluence of mountians hills and sky on this beautiful pin point of our beautiful planet so that pilgrims can better reflect on the great gifts they have been given and the puny and emphemeral nature of their troubles in God's grand scheme of things.