St. Mary's in Willey remodels the 97-year-old church building

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
April 12, 2007

WILLEY - St. Mary's Parish in Willey recently finished remodeling the church.

An open house was held on April 1 in connection with the parish's annual pork chop supper.

"We were able to invite the public," said Father Jim McCormick, pastor at St. Mary's in Willey. "We had tours and explanations offered for those who wanted to see the church."

The remodel began last fall and work was completed in January. During construction, Masses were held in the parish center.

According to Father McCormick, the remodel was needed. The building is 97 years old.

They also wanted to "spruce up the church" for the 125th anniversary. The date for the anniversary celebration is July 28 and Bishop R. Walker Nickless will be present for Mass.

"The church had not been painted for a number of years, and there were a lot of hairline cracks in the walls," said the pastor. "The statues were in great need of repairing, especially the Stations of the Cross."

Riehle Decorating from Cresco, Iowa was contracted for the project. The cracking in the walls was remedied by spraying the walls with fiberglass followed by paint.

"We tried to make the colors harmonious with the stained glass windows," said Father McCormick. "We highlighted the arches and the capitals of the columns in the church. We used a little bit of gold leafing to highlight the windows and the various arches in the body of the church."

All of the statues and stained glass windows in the church were repaired and repainted. Father McCormick pointed out that the people remodeling were "careful to make sure that there were flesh tones and that everything would be harmonious."

The high altar was cleaned. It was also decided that the carpet needed to be replaced in the sanctuary and put into the rest of the church. The priest added that the pews were replaced as well.

"There had traditionally been a blue ceiling with stars, so once again the ceiling above the altar is night blue with stars," said Father McCormick. "We tried to be faithful to the structure and age of church in choosing colors and ornamentation."

Funds for the remodel were from estates of former Willey parishioners as well as donations from current parishioners.

"In general, the response was very positive," said Father McCormick. "The people felt very happy with the church. It was not overdone, but at the same time it highlights the features that are particularly important at Willey - windows and main altar."