Church Re-Painting

JUNE 19, 2021
Cardinal Sean O’Malley presided at the 4:00 pm Mass on Saturday the 19th, in our beautiful restored church. This is a time of great celebration.

tap here to watch …

For over 150 years, the Charlestown Catholic community has been a pillar of faith, hope, and charity. Our forebears strove to create a vibrant faith community with a solid moral foundation and a firm commitment to serving others.

Our beautiful church building, a sacred space to so many over the years, has been a place for us to gather in prayer through generations. It has served and continues to serve us well in our obligation to preach the Gospel to all who seek to love, know, and follow our Lord Jesus Christ. Over the past two years, we have worked diligently to enhance our facilities and maintain this historic worship site.

In the fall of 2018, we undertook the first phase of a major capital campaign. Over 125 families contributed more than $600,000 to this effort, which allowed us to hire a liturgical restoration consultant and perform a long-overdue cleaning and painting of the church. Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, we had intended to raise an additional $300,000 to complete the restoration work in the church and address other priorities. Naturally, we paused our fundraising plans – but the opportunity to complete the restorative work while the scaffolding was up and the church was closed was too good to pass up. The Finance Council was unanimous in its decision to borrow funds so we could complete most of the restoration last summer.

I hope you have had the chance to see the marvelous art and statue detail and how it complements the new paint and marble. In addition to being beautiful, this restoration will allow us to preserve these beautiful works of art.

We did not, however, have enough funds to reconfigure the front entry way and install the statues of St. Catherine of Siena and Our Lady as we had hoped. Nor could we replace the carpeting in the sanctuary or restore the front doors.

Our task now, is to complete these last few projects and pay back the loan. I invite you now to learn more about what we have accomplished and help us to complete this restoration in a fiscally responsible way.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Please enjoy the before, during, and after pictures of our beautiful Church, a presentation by David Riccio from Canning Liturgical Arts, the Painting Contractor, and an update from Fr. Ronan.

Under the March 2021 update, please click the links to find out how you can help support this project.

Kickoff – January 2020

Made possible by the generous donations from parishioners raised through the 2018 Inspiring Hope campaign for St. Mary’s Church interior paint restoration.

The funds raised in 2018 in gifts and pledges have allowed us to begin the painting of beautiful St. Mary’s. Since that time, more then 200 families have registered in the Parish. Additionally, many members of the parish did not have an opportunity to contribute to the initial appeal. In order to invite these folks to join those who have supported the project, and because the costs of completing all aspects of the restoration require more funds, there will be a Phase II of the Inspiring Hope Campaign. Look for more information in the weeks ahead!