A building restored is our heritage saved

two church buildings in diocese undergoing major change!

Holy Trinity Cathedral, New Ulm

If any of you are old enough to remember the downstairs church at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm.....we are down there again! A new terrazzo floor is being installed upstairs so we began celebrating Mass in the basement on Sunday night, January 1, 2006.

The pews were numbered and removed. The statues and organ were covered in plastic. The carpet was pulled up from the sanctuary floor. Then the noise began as the old terrazzo was broken apart and shoveled out.

The Wisconsin Terrazzo and Tile Company of Wisconsin began installing the new floor on January 3 with a projected completion date of April 7, 2006.

The cracks and worn areas of the old floor warranted the replacement which was funded by a bequest from the estate of Lenore Vetter.

The sanctuary will also have a new look as the carpeted steps will be trimmed and faced in oak along with the platform in front of the high altar. After the new terrazzo has been poured, the floor will then be polished to bring out the aggregate in the terrazzo. The color of the floor will remain as before.

Since Holy Trinity is the Cathedral of the diocese, the New Ulm diocesan coat of arms will be embedded in the center aisle floor near the front of the church.

Parishioners hope to be back in the church area by April.

Church of St. Aloysius, Olivia

During the “kick off” Sunday held October 16, 2005, parishioners of the Church of St. Aloysius in Olivia ventured into the beginning of a capital campaign entitled “Continuing Our Tradition.” The goal was to raise $750,000 to complete restoration, painting and decorating of the beautiful and historic church interior as well as other church facility improvements. The priceless artwork in the church, although often found in European churches, is rare in the United States.

They are happy to report they have met that goal and actually exceeded it...reaching the $940,000 mark! In all, over 60 volunteers worked on the effort and to-date over 150 members made contributions. Of those contacted, almost 70% pledged gifts and the average of these pledges exceeded $5,200 which indicates the level of support that was attained.

Because the campaign goal of $750,000 was surpassed so resoundingly, other possibilities will be considered such as additional improvements to the parish plant that were not in the original plan as well as starting a foundation to fund normal church maintenance and upkeep in future years. Diocesan guidelines require 75% cash on hand, and with almost $300,000 received to date, the contracts for priority phase one improvements will be hopefully executed in June 2006.

The success of this campaign was truly noteworthy when it is taken into consideration that prior to the formal capital campaign, generous donors had already given over $500,000 to fund top priority church property improvements. These improvements included the completion of the Jubilee Center as well as the 2005 installment of a state-of-the-art church heating and air conditioning system to preserve treasured murals and art work in the worship space and also provide member comfort, elimination of a substantial parish loan, refurbishment of a former convent building into a parish center, complete exterior restoration of the church's exterior mortar work and stained glass work, and rejuvenation of the rectory. Total donor gifts and pledges for the church restoration and improvements have reached nearly $1,500,000 in the past 5 years.

"This level of sacrificial giving from a church of some 500 households is truly amazing and humbling," stated Fr. Paul van de Crommert, pastor of St. Aloysius. "For such generosity - from current and past members - we are truly grateful."

The parish was assisted in this capital campaign effort by church fundraising and stewardship specialists Walsh and Associates, a Burnsville, MN based national

fund raising consulting firm.