PROVIDENCE — Parishioners at the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus in Providence and St. Rocco Church in Johnston have sacrificed and contributed to major restoration projects in their historic parishes during these challenging economic times.
Father Joseph Santos, administrator of Holy Name Church, began a capital campaign in 2006 to raise $250,000 to renovate the inside of the church, repair its front steps and railings and bring the church up to fire code.
Since its implementation, the campaign has raised more than $420,000 in pledges and gifts, of which $300,000 has been received.
"The love the people have for their church is the only thing that has kept this project going. Deep-down I have a feeling the parishioners have an affection for this church," said Father Santos.
The East Side church now meets fire-safety codes, five sets of doors have been restored, and improvements have been made to the stairs and railings, said Father Santos.
The main component of the restoration project is repainting the interior of the large Catholic church. Father Santos said the base price for the painting is $350,000. He emphasized Holy Name is "keeping work for contractors within the state." Warwick Painting Co., Inc. has been hired to restore the church to its original beauty.
Father Santos expects the painting to be completed by mid-October. "This is one of the most beautiful parishes and let's not forget beauty attracts and cultivates a certain atmosphere," Father Santos emphasized.
"The church has so much detail. There is extensive stenciling to be done on the ceiling and marbleizing to be done," said Robert Bove, president of the painting company.
Bove added that it will take more than 250 gallons of several colors of paint to restore Holy Name's interior. The scaffolding took more than 750 frames of staging and about 750 planks to assemble, he noted.
Holy Name parishioners John Daluz and Barbara Masterson are excited to see the landmark being restored.
Daluz has been a Holy Name parishioner for 66 years, and is a member of the parish's capital campaign committee.
"The restoration could attract young Catholics to join the church, because people will want to see what we've done and I can't wait to see it," said Daluz.
"People come from North Providence, South Providence and East Providence to Holy Name, and the Latin Mass attracts people from all over the state," he added.
Masterson lives a few blocks from Holy Name, and thinks the church could be a beacon of hope for the Mount Hope community.
"Parishioners have worked hard to make this happen — especially in these economic times, and Father Santos has put his all into coordinating this and getting everything done," said Masterson.
At St. Rocco Church, repairs have been made to the church's 105-foot bell tower and 6-foot hollow copper cross.
Years of exposure to all types of weather have taken a toll on the tower, which was in dire need of repair.
Scalabrini Father Charles Zanoni, pastor of St. Rocco Church, was in a quandary when he arrived at the church in January 2006. The parish couldn't afford the cost of repairing the bell tower after making improvements to its school.
St. Rocco's parishioners raised more than $300,000 to finance the project. Father Zanoni said the tower is being waterproofed and about 8,000 bricks have been replaced. The tower contains the stairway to the choir loft.
"God's been good to us and people have seen the work being completed, and collections have gone up. Some people wanted the tower torn down, but it's a monument to the immigrants who put it up," said Father Zanoni.
Warren-based Lombardi Construction Co. has been hired to restore the bell tower, according to Michael Falcone, field project manager for the Diocesan Facilities Department, who oversees the project.
He said the restoration should be completed by August.
The refinished and re-gilded cross was placed atop the tower on July 14.
Water penetration was causing destruction of the masonry in the bell tower.
John Lombardi, who works for the family-operated business, said "the masonry is complete on the tower and stainless-steel screens have been placed atop the tower to keep pigeons away.
"By God's grace we were here in the rainy season, and we were able to observe how the water was running off the copper dome of the tower and onto the masonry work," added Lombardi.
"One problem was the newer bricks were bigger than the older ones. We had to cut about 2,000 bricks, and we spent every day cutting bricks," he noted.
Lombardi, pointing at the steel placed to protect the bell tower, emphasized, "this stainless steel will last for years and keep the birds away."
E.F. O'Donnell & Sons Co. in Providence refinished and re-gilded the bell-tower's cross. Robert O'Donnell said his company worked on the cross in the 1980s, and added the cross has taken "lots of weather and abuse from birds."
O'Donnell said after cleaning and repairing the cross, it was then gilded with 23-karat gold leaf.
The cross was then burnished with sterilized cotton to make the gold smooth.
It was returned to St. Rocco's for display on July 10.
