Alton St. Mary's holds blessing Mass for redecorated church

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
July 12, 2007

ALTON - Bishop R. Walker Nickless blessed the newly redecorated St. Mary Church in Alton on June 30 during 5 p.m. Mass.

Bishop Nickless presided at the Mass and Father John Vakulskas, pastor at St. Mary's, concelebrated.

During the homily, the bishop explained the process of blessing the new altar and talked about the readings.

"May this new altar be a symbol of the goodness of God for many years to come," said Bishop Nickless. "We gather today to do something very special. There is a special reason for us to rejoice in the presence of the Lord. We have a new altar."

He continued that he would not only bless the altar but also dedicate and consecrate it to God "for use in the renewal of the sacrifice of Christ on the altar of the cross. This altar is to be a holy table, a reminder of the sacrifice of Christ and a place where Jesus becomes truly present to us each time the Mass is celebrated at this altar."

Bishop Nickless asked and addressed these questions: Why is so much attention given to an altar? Why is the bishop here to dedicate it? Why must it be dedicated before it can be used for Mass?

"There are many reasons," said Bishop Nickless. "First, when one meditates on the words of Scripture and listens to the teachings of the ancient fathers of the church, it is evident that Christ himself was the victim, the priest and the altar of his own sacrifice. We believe that Christ is the living altar of the heavenly temple."

He added that heaven and earth unite whenever people are gathered around the altar.

"Secondly, if Christ is the true altar, we his members and followers are also spiritual altars on which the sacrifice of our holy life is offered to God," said the bishop. "This altar becomes a symbol of all of us as followers of Christ called by him in offering all we are to God."

Bishop Nickless stressed that people should not take the altar for granted.

"Every week we receive the true body and blood of Christ on this altar that gives the strength we need to follow God," said the bishop. "Let us use it as it is intended to be used. We bow to it and priests kiss the altar. It is covered with linen. It is adorned with candles. It is incensed, so that the prayers that come to this altar rise up to God, who we pray will hear our prayers."

Before the celebration of the Eucharist, Bishop Nickless anointed the altar with oil and incensed the altar. The altar was then covered with cloths and lit with a candle on each side.

At the end of Mass, Father Vakulskas thanked Bishop Nickless and all those who helped with the Mass. Following Mass there was a reception in the school gym.

"It was decided to redecorate the church because quite frankly the walls, the carpet and the electrical were all showing their age and you cannot just let a building run down," said Father Vakulskas. "The parish council received proposals from two church interior specialists and the nod was given to John C. Kaiser and Company of Dubuque, Iowa."

Work began in the church the first week of January. Father Vakulskas noted that the workers arrived and set up scaffolding to go to work on the ceiling of the 99-year-old church building.

"All the plaster defects in the walls and ceilings in the nave, sanctuary, balcony and adjoining rooms were repaired to a sound surface," said the pastor. "They all received a fiberglass covering and then two coats of paint were put over the top of the fiberglass."

The frames to the stained glass windows were wood grained to blend as varnished wood. The three altar reredos were cleaned and newly gold leafed, as well as the baptismal fountain.

The decorating consisted of highlighting the architectural lines of the church. Gold leaf finishing lines were done along the angles of the ceiling and around the windows. Glazing and gold leafing was also done on all corbels and gold leaf highlighting of the moldings and painting of the columns.

"All carpet was replaced. A new altar of sacrifice was installed using some of the columns from the communion rail that was removed years ago," said Father Vakulskas. "The gold leaf designs were also incorporated on the altar and new ambo (pulpit) to give the church continuity to the past."

The altar, presider's chair and ambo were built by Gunder Manufacturing of Humboldt and were crafted out of Butternut, an Iowa wood.

"Gunder did an excellent job in placing a new altar, ambo and presider's chair, and have it all blend in well with the almost century old wood in the sanctuary," said Father Vakulskas.

There is a new sound system, which includes wireless hookups for the hearing impaired and new electrical.

Father Vakulskas mentioned that new aluminum kneelers are on order and are yet to be installed.

"After the initial vote of the parish to go ahead with the project the efforts to appeal to the stewardship offering for this began," said Father Vakulskas. "From day one, the spiritual aspect of this was stressed. This was not just another fundraising project but an opportunity for everyone to reflect on how blessed they were by almighty God, and how they had the opportunity to share their time, talent and treasure to redecorate this church building for the ages to come. This was done for the future."

All the work was done from January through May. During that time, Masses were held in the school gym.

"We are so grateful that the church got restored the way it was because it is such a beautiful church," said Jan Stroeth, a parishioner at St. Mary's.

Tom Braun, who has been a St. Mary's parishioner for 69 years, thought the blessing Mass was beautiful. He added that the redecoration is "perfect. I love every bit of it. I think it is fantastic."