The Renovation

Color perspective drawing of completed renovation, phase 1 St. Mary Church used to be one of the most beautiful churches in all of Connneciticut, and over the past 4 years the parish has had an ongoing restoration, bringing the nineteenth century beautiful neo-gothic church back to its original glory. The first phase of the renovation has been a great success; it focused on renewing the sanctuary of the church with custom Italian marble slabs along with a magnificent marble altar rail, pulpit, and baptismal font. You can review the remarkable progress made during Phase I in our photo albums.

The second and third phases of the restoration is now underway. With the exterior of the church having been painted, now some of the most exciting parts of the project have begun. You can see photos of the Phase II and III progress on this page.

Phase II will include:

Painting the interior walls and ceiling with a French blue for Our Lady and Gold Stars done by one of the finest church interior painters in the country, John Canning, Inc.
New lighting throughout the church, done by Artech, Inc.
New state of the art sound system, built by Pascomb, Inc.

This part of the project has begun. The lighting and sound system will be complete along with the painting of the front third of the church.

Phase III will include:

Construction of a central reredos, designed by Duncan Stroik
Original Renaissance painting of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (7' by 13') by artist Leonard Porter. (Read an article entitled The Dangerous Path on Leonard Porter and also visit his website: www.leonardporter.com)

This renovation is a major undertaking for the parish and we are asking for the support of all parish families.

We are most fortunate to have placed the project under the direction of architect Duncan G. Stroik of the University of Notre Dame, renowned for his appreciation of classic forms of architecture. He is providing his expertise on the restoration to help insure that the planned changes keep the integrity of our beautiful church. Similarly, we are fortunate to have the experience of Artech as our general contractor, who specializes in church renovations, as well as with Henry Garjulo, an expert in marble, who oversaw the altar floor installation.

Please check back often to keep track of our progress!

Phases II and III

The second phase of the renovation will focus on the remaining interior of the church, such as installing new reredos (ornamental screens behind the altars), painting the interior, and installing a new bathroom in the main floor of the church. While the primary feature of the second phase will be repainting the interior, another important component of the second phase will be to repaint the exterior of the church as well.

The third phase of the renovation will add reredoses behind the main altar and the two side altars. See below to see an artist's rendering of the plan by Duncan G. Stroik.

For the interior of the church, a blue and gold color scheme will be used. Note the reredoses behind the main altar and side altars.

Perspective drawing of the interior of St. Mary Church after phases II and III

Elevation drawing of the sanctuary after phases II and III

Elevation drawing (viewed from the Epistle side) of the sanctuary after phases II and III

Phases II and III - Photos of the Progress

Click on the thumbnails below to view galleries of the photos.
	Weeks 1 & 2: Major work on the interior of St. Mary Church began in October 2011.
	Week 3: The first colors of blue for Our Lady appear!
	Week 4: The first gold stars are added to the ceiling.
	Week 5: Stenciling and more detail work continues.
	Week 6: Arches completed; the Ave Maria started.
	Week 7: Sanctuary painting nearly complete.

Phase I

The first phase of the renovation focused on renewing the sanctuary area, with some of the most notable items being:

Restoration of the side altars
Installation of an altar rail (the original had been removed during a prior renovation)
Installation of new marble flooring on the altar
Addition of a new elevated pulpit
A new free-standing altar, which can be moved for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass on the high altar

Other important changes during the first phase of this renovation were:

Installation of a confessional on the main floor of the church
Installation of a new baptismal font near the entrance of the church

The Sanctuary

The side altars that were originally a part of the design of the church were removed during a renovation in 1989. One of the major changes during Phase I of the renovation was to restore those side altars. The installation of a marble altar rail also helped return the church to its neo-gothic style roots.

Front view of the renovated altar
Front view of the new, renovated altar

For preaching the Gospel and for the celebrating priest's sermon, a new pulpit was also installed. The style and construction are of the same period (mid-19th century) as the church.

Elevation view of the new pulpit
Elevation of the new pulpit

Other Important Changes

While the sanctuary area was the focus of Phase I of the renovation, the addition of a confessional on the main floor of the church (something which was curiously lacking) and the installation of a new baptismal font near the entrance of the church (its position symbolizing the entrance to the Catholic faith) are two other key changes that occured during this phase of the renovation.

New top-down view of the church (entrance is on the left, baptismal font in the upper part, confessional in the lower part)

Phase I - Week-by-Week Photos of the Progress

To walk along the journey of Phase I of the renovation, you can browse the week-by-week photo galleries below.

Click on the thumbnails below to view galleries of the photos.
	Week 1: Construction started on January 4th, 2010.
	Week 2: Now that the floor is completely opened up much of this week was occupied by the engineer for Edward Stanley Engineers, LLC, doing structural analysis to ensure that the floor will be able handle the weight of the new sanctuary. Next week the framing will begin.
	Week 3: Framing begins and subfloor of new altar is installed.
	Week 4: The cement is poured for the sanctuary.
	Week 5: This week was spent cleaning the various marble pieces with a white chemical which is wiped on the marble, and then sealed with plastic. The white mud seeps into the marble and draws out all the dirt.
	Week 6: Much of the work going on this week went on in workshops outside of the church, including building the freestanding altar, the staircase to the pulpit, and cutting the marble slabs according the templates.
	Week 7: Now that the sanctuary structure is fully built, much of this week was spent preparing the final details of marble installation.
	Week 8: Installation of the marble floor of the sanctuary continues.
	Week 9: The marble floor continues to be put in - and now there is enough marble to start the installation of the beautifully carved altar rail.
	Week 10: More work on the marble, kneelers, and confessional.
	Week 11: It was a dramatic week, with many additions. Here are the about 10 new pews in the front of the church, made to match the existing pews. Also note the new pulpit stairs.
	Week 13 (Holy Week): Holy Week was truly blessed this year at St. Mary's with the newly renovated sanctuary ready for the special ceremonies of the week. More photos of Holy Week can be found on the St. Hugh of Cluny blog.

Learn More

See the other pages in our Renovation & Renewal section for more information on:

Or go back to the renovation home page.