Friday, July 27, 2012

St. Michael's New Church

Due to a steady increase in parishioners, St. Michael Church in Garden City, South Carolina made a plan to build a new church about 7 years ago. Rev. Ray Carlo, St. Michael's pastor, began reserving liturgical items from church-inventory.com and having them restored by Henninger's skilled artists and craftsmen. Stations of the Cross, an ambo, multiple altars, statuary and more were in storage for the new church, waiting for the summer of 2012. Finally, the church building was ready to receive its patrimony.


Altar of Repose


Fr. Carlo selected this Altar, originally from St. Hyacinth Church in Cleveland.  It is constructed in Bottacino marble and it features a plaster Last Supper scene and gold painted Alpha and Omega symbols.





The first step required in its restoration was repairing and repainting the Last Supper.  It was cracked, broken, and pealing.  Henninger's statuary artist, Debbie Knopf repaired it, then painted it in faux marble to match the rest of the altar.

The marble was polished to its original finish and Henninger's crew installed it on-site using cinder block, plaster and epoxy.

These photos document the installation of the Altar of Repose and its finished state with a refinished Tabernacle and two Adoring Angel statues atop it.




 
Stations of the Cross
These stations are full round Daprato Statuary pieces that were originally from Christ the King Church in East Cleveland.  Each Station was touched up using sepia tones for the garments.  A total of 55 figures are featured in 14 Stations, so the touch ups were extensive.

The finished Stations were hung on the wall and spot lit, making each scene appear very dramatic.









Ambo & Altar of Sacrifice


Fr. Carlo picked carved marble Evangelist symbols for his Ambo and a carved marble Victorious Lamb symbol for his Altar of Sacrifice.  Each piece of used marble was extensively restored at Henninger's shop, then installed in the new sanctuary. 



 



The Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist as certainly tied together with these matching pieces.   They look stunning from a distance as well as up close.  The types of marble used on the Altar and Ambo are Bottacino on top and Rosso Atlantide on bottom.













Marian Side Altar and St. Joseph Side Altar


 Each of St. Michael's Side Altars are 13 1/2 feet tall.  These marble altars feature a mosaic background, gold mosaic decoration, large columns, and an impressive dome top.  Their restoration and assembly was a daunting challenge, but Henninger's marble workers were up to the task. 








Hanging Crucifix
Fr. Carlo selected this crucifix, originally from St. George Church in Cleveland.  The corpus was fully restored to a more natural skin tone, and a new cross was made.  The block style cross was selected so the stained glass window behind the crucifix would be more visible.





Adoration Altar
This Altar was originally from St. Procop in Cleveland.  It has a high level of decoration with carved Carrara marble arches and mosaic medallions.  It is a fitting Altar for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Henninger's entire staff is honored to play such a large role in furnishing St. Michael's new church.  It was a blessing to work with such wonderful people in South Carolina and help create a stunning place to worship.