St. Brendan's Doors

Church doors are a entryway from the outside world into God's house.  With that being said, the doors themselves should be impressive and strong.  "These sacred portals enhance the religious experience and should not be overlooked in the design of newer places of worship" -God's House is Our House.

Old Facade of Church

St. Brendan Church in North Olmsted was ready to upgrade the front the church.  Fr. Tom Woost worked with Henninger's on the design of six new doors and stained glass transoms.

Door and Transom Design

One of Henninger's stained glass artists, Debbie Knopf, got to work, providing glass samples, and fabricating the panels.

Glass Samples

Stained Glass Studio

The hand made doors were built of solid African Mahogany by one of Henninger's cabinet makers, Tim Molnar.  The four panel, two light doors have arch shaped stained glass panels on the top.  Since the wood shop and stained glass studio are only 150 feet away from each other, collaboration and communication are optimized.

Fabrication in Henninger's woodshop - machining the arches, and detail of stick and cope joints with dowels

Staining and Finishing

Henninger's wood finisher, Nick Davila,  stained the mahogany, then applied three layers of UV protected varnish.  When the doors and stained glass were complete and the new hardware was ready, Henninger's installed the new doors.  The front of the church received a major upgrade.

"Henninger's has a very reliable, knowledgeable, and attentive staff. From the idea stage to the installation of the doors, they made the project enjoyable and exciting. The parishioners of St. Brendan continue to comment on the quality of craftsmanship and the beautiful artistry that flows from the original architecture of the church." - Rev. Tom Woost, Pastor of St. Brendan Church

 

To see more church doors, visit Henninger's Door Portfolio Page. To brainstorm ideas for new doors at your church, visit Henninger's Door Design Page:

Art Restoration

Henninger's recently finished the restoration of one Station of the Cross for Mary Queen of Peace Church in Cleveland.  Rev. Doug Brown approached Henninger's for the restoration of this century-old piece of art.  It is an oil painting on a copper sheet.

14th Station before restoration

The paint had flaked off considerably in the blue background, exposing the copper.  The entire Station was covered with a layer of dust and smoke from the years it hung in the church.

Anna Drewes, an artist specializing in conservation and restoration, took on the project.  The goal in art restoration is to keep as much of the original artwork as possible conserve what is still present in the piece.  Anna was successful in this regard.

She was able to remove the smoke build-up in the figures and foreground, then seal over those areas.  The areas that had flaked off in the blue background were first filled in, then inpaint those areas to match the rest of the blue area.

14th Station - smoke damage removed, filled in areas of flaking

After the inpainting was complete, a final varnish was applied.  The finished result is amazing.  Anna was able to bring new life to this gorgeous true piece of art.

14th Station after restoration

Westerville Windows

Henninger's stained glass studio recently finished its latest set of windows for St. Paul the Apostle Church in Westerville, Ohio.  The following photos document their design, fabrication and installation:

 

Our Lady of Mount Carmel window

 

Four windows for Holy Family and St. Paul Shrines

St. Joseph and St. Patrick windows

St. Joan of Arc window

Small archtop windows in parlors

St. Peter and St. Paul windows

St. Sebastian window

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.