[June, 2003]
Background to Project
As far as we know the last three times the church had been painted and/re-decorated
were in: 1952; 1972; and, 1987. In '52, there was a significant amount of decoration
placed in the church. In '72, the church was painted almost exclusively in off-whites,
by the Berlinger Company, Peoria, with the addition of the Holy Spirit depiction
above the rererdos. In '87, the Berlinger Company again painted the church,
putting a little bit more decoration along with off-whites, and re-doing the
Holy Spirit depiction. Having arrived in June of 1999, 1 decided that if I were
here more than three years, I would want to/have to undertake the painting and
decoration of the church once again.
How the Project Started
In January of 2000, we replaced the outside glass doors with new and improved
ones. Then, in September of 2001, we painted over the four Evangelists on the
angled walls of the apse and replaced them with two 'Angels of Light', complete
with painted pedestals. [Due to a April 19, 2001 lightning strike --- of a defective
transformer that feeds the church --- we managed to obtain a brand new $68,000
Rodgers Organ in the early fall of 2001, after a number of guys from the parish
worked 100s of hours preparing its new home in the choir loft. They ended up
doing a great job painting the 33 main organ pipes too-not a small task!] In
October of 2001, I obtained the 6'x8' 118-year old oil painting of our patron
Saint, St Patrick, with the idea of painting over the Holy Spirit depiction
--- which was more and more in disrepair. In February of 2002, we began putting
together a frame for the St Patrick painting and by the March 17, 2002 weekend,
we dedicated the new home for our patron Saint evangelizing Ireland. In late
July of 2002, 1 obtained more oil paintings for the church --- this time, the
Twelve Apostles, for future iconographical decoration. Fortunately for us, they
came from the very same church from which we obtained the St Patrick painting,
being painted by the very same artisans. This particular purchase prompted the
pastor to start thinking on a larger scale of restoration of the church!
Also in July of 2002, we began scraping the church, with the idea of painting
the entire church with the exclusive help of parish volunteers. Local artistic
expert painter Richard Schaad, whom I had met while he was doing some wonderful
artistic work on St Pat's--Decatur, was officially hired by the parish as a
artistic painting consultant. As time wore on, I and others realized that we
would have to hire Richard and other professionals to do a proper job of restoration.
So, in December of 2002, paid and volunteer help began painting the west side
of the church, utilizing rolling scaffold. On January 6, 2003, we began scaffolding
the rest of the church, from front wall to back wall. [Later, we had additional
scaffold placed on the east side of the church.] We had a schedule with the
scaffolder to have it for ten weeks. This would prove to be the most intense
and productive ten weeks of the entire project.
Overall Processes and Designs Used in the Project
In early December, 2002, Richard had come up with a basic color schema and palate
for the church: a heavenly blue for the ceilings; earthly green on the wanescote;
and, a greenish tan for the walls. He and I had some basic ideas for the decorative
painting, utilizing what decorative elements were already in existence in the
church. Some of these elements included: the fleur-de lis, found on the top
of the carved part of the canopy of the rererdos; the various derivations of
the cross, found in the stained glass windows; the many arches of the neo-Gothic
design of the church itself-, etc. Making sure the color schema used in every
part of the church worked in concert with all the others was one of the most
time consuming and difficult parts of the project. Richard and I spent countless
hours searching, deciding and then "tweaking" the colors, sizes and
designs of the decorative elements for the project. The overall thrust of the
project included being mindful of the architecture, the colors found in the
windows & woods, and the theologico-liturgical realities of a Catholic church,
making something of great beauty, which naturally raises our hearts and minds
to the supernatural place of Heaven.
To give one a greater appreciation for the time and effort of what had to be
done to every square inch of every wall and ceiling, I offer the following description:
Step One --- scrape existing paint and loose plaster; Step Two --- oil-base
prime the wall/ceiling; Step Three --- patch with Portland Cement & plaster
mixture, using nylon mesh all the holes and cracks and dilapidated comers and
edges; Step Four --- skim coat the wall/ceiling, using new plaster; Step Five
--- sand the skim coat; Step Six --- skim coat a second time, ensuring a smooth
and safe surface; Step Seven --- sand again; Step Eight---oil-base prime again;
Step Nine --- put first coat of quality latex on; Step Ten --- put second coat
of latex on; Step Eleven --- if applicable, prepare surface for decorative painting;
Etc. The corbels and columns caps all had to be professionally fixed and firmed-up
by local expert architectural carpenter, Andy Birkey. There are about the same
number of processes for them: eleven or twelve. Likewise, for all the wall and
ceiling decoration, numerous and arduous processes have to take place: what
stencils to place in a space; its size; its placement; its color; its number;
what colors to put around it; etc. In regard to the thousands of line- decoration,
much planning is involved, the many processes of putting masking tape in the
right place for the next color or gold, etc.
The marble we used in the sanctuary was done by Bob Shaw ("Bandana Bob"),
a local expert tile and marble man. Much firming up of the floor and replacement
of steps had to precede the actual laying of the marble. The manner in which
Bob put the marble in is a process they have used in Rome for about 2500 years,
ensuring that it will not crack or move, but nonetheless having an underlayment
having the attribute of absorbing shock and building settlement.
'Framing' is another important dynamic and process important to our parish church
restoration project. Richard made sure the windows, the apse, the Apostles,
and Mary and Joseph were all adequately emphasized, so to show off their inherent
beauty and theologico-liturgical prominence.
The lighting of any building is a key element in properly displaying the beauty
and use of decoration, color, and iconography. Thankfully our electricians led
us to Manning Lighting in Wisconsin, which has an extensive collection of church
lighting. The fifteen 'French Gothic' hanging lamps used in our church truly
display the restoration project itself and, of course, become part of the decorative
aspect of the project itself. Likewise, the spot-lighting and other lights high
light elements of beauty and faith.
The new front altar and pulpit-ambo complete our restoration project, aesthetically.
Their style coincides with the back altar and rererdos, mindful of the warmth
of the Butternut and Walnut woods. Andy Birkey was the master craftsman who
designed and built these wonderful pieces.
Volunteerism
Because of the generosity of time, talent, and treasure of the parishioners,
our restoration project was made possible; otherwise, it would never have gotten
off the ground. Thank you, volunteers: may God bless and reward you abundantly!
Final Price Tag
The breakdown of the costs of the restoration are as follows (in rounded figures):
1. Consulting and Labor Fees: $96,000; H. Electrical Labor: $42,000; M. Scaffolding,
Lift, & Scaffold Purchase: $48,500; IV. Materials: a. All Lights-$30,000;
b. Marble-$16,000; c. Paint and Other Supplies-$12,000; d. Other Decorative
Elements (Paintings, Altar & Pulpit materials, etc.)--$ 10,000. Total Price
will be $254,500. Estimated amount saved due to volunteerism. .
Sources for Funds
Because of present and past parishioner generosity, we were able to pay for
our parish restoration project, completely avoiding having to take out any loans.
$130,000 came from our account with the Diocese of Peoria (the DLF); $82,000
came from memorials; the remainder came out of our weekly contributions.
Final Note on Restoration Project from Fr. Stirniman
It was really edifying to me, the pastor, to see so many of my parishioners
volunteer themselves in some way to the project. The dedication that was shown
reflects greatly upon you, as Catholic Christians, revealing you truly care
about various aspects of your faith lives. Also, the patience with which you
endured the obstacles, the on-going messes we created, and the innumerable smells
you breathed are all part of a maturity of faith as well as a means to growing
in your faith. Let us together thank the Good Lord, Our Blessed Mother and St
Joseph for a happy end to our project of love. [I would also like to thank Richard
Schaad and Andy Birkey, for their great dedication .... and patience, working
with me these past number of months!] Be assured of my continued prayers for
you and your families!