JANESVILLE — On October 20, a beautiful Friday evening in autumn, the cross and steeple of St. Patrick Church in Janesville was blessed. The blessing marked the completion of major interior church renovations spanning the past two years.
Fr. Drew Olson, former pastor of St. Patrick Parish, presided over the blessing. Following the cross and steeple blessing, Mass was celebrated by Father Olson; Fr. Vincent Racanelli, parochial vicar; and Msgr. Kevin Holmes, a son of the parish. More than a hundred were gathered for the blessing, Mass, and social afterward.
For the past two years, St. Patrick’s cross and steeple have been in Kentucky undergoing repairs and updates. Recently, they traveled back to Janesville and were reinstalled on October 19.
The addition of the steeple puts the height of the parish building at 122.6 feet, towering above the residential houses that share the same block.
Father Olson was lifted via a construction boom lift to reach the top of the church since the steeple had been installed the day before the blessing.
A need for renovation
St. Patrick Parish celebrated its 157th birthday this year. It’s the oldest church building in Janesville and the oldest Catholic church still in use in Rock County.
When the capital campaign began under the direction of Father Olson two years ago, there was a need for renovation. The steeple itself, which was taken down in 2021, was originally removed because it began tilting by four degrees to the East, and safety started to become a concern.
Now, two years later, the church has wrapped up major interior renovations, including a complete sanctuary overhaul, a new narthex, new bathrooms, and handicap accessible features throughout the parish.
Sense of relief
There was a sense of relief for the five members of St. Patrick’s capital campaign committee — including Gaylen Reilly, Ed Hookman, Jeff Knopes, Jeff Spiegelhoff, and Jim Smith. When asked, “What does the steeple and church renovations being complete mean to you?” the whole team gave a great sigh of relief.
They went on to say that the effort involved the whole community. Lots of local help was needed to pull off the renovations, and the community came together to “pool resources.” For example, the hardwood that decorates the interior of the sanctuary was donated, and the confessional was made by a local craftsman.
As for their role, Knopes said, “We were here to ‘part the waters’ for anybody who was coming to do something. When we were getting ready for new carpet [in the narthex], we came down on a Saturday and got out our 100ft tape measure to measure the layout.”
The updated sanctuary
St. Patrick’s sanctuary features beautiful updates including new plastering, new hardwood floors, and the church’s original pews refinished.
One unique feature of St. Patrick is the Stations of the Cross icons that decorate the walls of the sanctuary. The Stations were originally made in 1840 for a Polish Catholic church in Chicago. When that church closed, the Stations were moved to a nearby Anglican church, and when that church closed, the Stations were moved to a Pentecostal church. Smith, a member of St. Patrick’s capital campaign committee says that St. Patrick was able to get the Stations because, “the Pentecostal church didn’t want anything like them, and we took these Stations because they were more elaborate than our old ones. So, they’ve been around — and they’re actually older than our church.”
Veronica Cavey, a parishioner of St. Patrick for 67 years, said, “The renovations are beautiful. [The church] needed work, and I’m really glad they got it all done.
Katrissa and Marty Howard and their ten children are newer parishioners of St. Patrick and are members of the parish’s financial council. Katrissa said, “It’s a gift how everyone was able to come together, even with the new changes, and watch the parish evolve with the renovations. One thing we appreciate about a church is when the interior beauty helps us worship more — a greater level of reverence. We were thrilled when this was something that Father Drew wanted to undertake because it elevates everything that we’re doing in our church.”
Looking forward
Renovations around St. Patrick aren’t quite finished yet. While the cross and steeple are back and the interior is finished, the next to-do is to pour new concrete around the front of the parish building.
Additionally, the parish looks forward to having the steeple’s bell working again. Father Olson is set to visit in early December to have a final blessing of St. Patrick’s entire renovation project.