OLMC - Niles, Ohio

Last year, the new pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Niles, Ohio had a vision of his new parish. Rev. John-Michael Lavelle saw hidden stained glass windows being exposed. His vision included new marble sanctuary furniture. He imagined a new crucifix hanging from the ceiling and a new tabernacle. The worship space at his new parish would look clean and rich.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church - 2012

Fr. Lavelle asked Henninger's for input on his renovation plans.  He knew he had to knock down a forty year old mosaic to expose the stained glass windows hidden behind it. He shopped on www.church-inventory.com for items from closed churches. After a few submissions, Father landed on the following rendering:

Henninger's Design Studio's Renovation Rendering

Fr. Lavelle contracted Henninger's to handle painting the church walls and ceiling, renovating the sanctuary with new altars, ambo, lectern, and baptismal font, ordering new metalware and statuary.  The back of the church needed work as well.  Using an old photo from archives, Father planned on a new facade for the choir loft, and more exposed stained glass.

Choir loft and back of church 2012                                                                   OLMC archived photo

Father asked Henninger's to add marble wainscoting throughout the church. The green marble would match the existing color around the sanctuary, and the new pieces of marble furniture. As more parishioners grew exited about the project, the plans continued to grow. New doors, chairs, and stained glass work were added to the renovation.  The pews were to be refinished with new kneelers.  The stairwell on the side of the building was to be converted into a cry room.  Henninger's work began in the church in January of 2013 with the removal of pews, mosaic removal, and setting up for scaffolding for the painters.

Pew removal                                                                                    Mosaic removal

Entire church with scaffolding

With the scaffolding covering the entire church, wall to wall, and floor to ceiling, surfaces were accessible to Henninger's paint crew. Preparation is the step that sets Henninger's paint crew apart from other commercial crews.  Our painters take the necessary time to professionally repair any damage, clean all surfaces, and prime before painting.  When we paint a church, it is meant to last 25 to 35 years.

Surface preparation                                                                               Painting ceiling

After the scaffolding came down, the next work was the marble wainscoting. Henninger's cut, beveled and polished dozens of slabs of green marble for the church's walls and columns.

Green marble wainscoting on walls and pillars

Henninger's covered the mosaics on the left and right sides of the sanctuary in drywall and painted the niches in a faux marble. A re-purposed side altar was installed on the left side of the sanctuary with a new tabernacle. A new sanctuary lamp and a new holy water font are on either side of the altar.

Before                                                                                                        After

The church's old baptismal font was converted into a statue pedestal for the new six foot wood carved statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. New floor candlesticks flanked the statue.

Before                                                                                               After

Henninger's work in the choir loft was quite extensive.  The box in the middle of the back wall was removed to expose the stained glass windows. A new floor was laid for stability. The front railing was built out and up to recreate the look in the church from decades before. Sandblasted glass panels featuring the seven sacraments were inserted in the new railing. The church's pipes from its previous organ were re-purposed by cutting, painting, and mounting. When finished, the facade was painted in faux marble green and white.

Before picture and work in progress pictures in choir loft

The result of all of the planning and hard work in the choir loft was very impressive.  The following before and after pictures also show the newly refinished pews:

Choir Loft 2012

Renovated Choir Loft

Father Lavelle had a great idea for the doors leading into the sacristy: stained glass. Henninger's artists designed and built two stained glass panels featuring the Youngstown Diocesan seal and the Papal seal.

Diocesan and Papal Seals on stained glass panels

The panels were installed into new solid wood doors. The inside of the doors were stained and the outside were faux marble painted.

  

 The new baptismal font was custom designed and fabricated for the renovation. The top piece was carved out of a solid piece of white marble. The bottom green marble formed an octagonal shape with an access panel to reach the pump on the water feature.

Baptismal Font

The sanctuary at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel received the biggest facelift. By removing the large mosaic in back, two previously hidden stained glass windows were exposed. A new crucifix was hung above the middle of the sanctuary. The three existing beige and green marble chairs were covered with all green marble and given an pointed top. The Altar of Sacrifice, Altar Railings, and Ambo were re-purposed pieces from St. Rose of Lima Church in the Diocese of Cleveland, which closed a few years ago. A new wall was built behind the chairs with marble crosses inset into it. The wall was painted in faux white and green marble. The marble lectern, bronze floor candlesticks, and wood acolyte chairs were all fabricated new.

Before and after pictures:

Sanctuary - Christmas 2012

New Sanctuary

"Words alone cannot express how appreciative I and the entire faith community of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are with regard to the incredible work everyone at Henninger's has done in recreating our worship space.  While the parishioners are truly amazed at the finished project, I have been amazed throughout the entire process, from first contacting Mark Cousineau a little over a year ago, up to the moment we returned to our glorious church - and beyond.  At every step of the process, they have been the most wonderful people to work with.  We are very blessed to have had the opportunity to collaborate with people who not only understand the many needs of a worship space, and possess the skills and resources to accomplish such wondrous goals, but also have a true love themselves for the celebrations that take place in God's house.  I look forward to continuing working with Henninger's on other projects in the future and highly recommend them to anyone seeking to create, restore or improve upon their worship space." 

Father John-Michael Lavelle 

 

Henninger's team is inspired by Liturgy. The Liturgy of the Word speaks to us and the Liturgy of the Eucharist lets us communicate with Jesus. The greatest service Henninger's can give is to enhance this Liturgy through high quality artwork and beautiful furnishings. Working on the renovation at Our Lady of Mount Carmel gave us the opportunity to enhance an amazing worship space and continue to reach for the heavens.

Colorful Renovation

The members of St. John Neumann in Strongsville, Ohio wanted to bring more light and color to their church.  Due to the faceted glass windows and paint scheme, the church had a dark look that needed to be brightened up.  The first items on their shopping list were four new statues: Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Blessed John Paul II, St. John Neumann, and St. Therese.  Henninger's proposed many options for these Saints and Blessed and the four selected were 5 foot fiberglass statues made in Italy:

While the statues were being made, the church was painted and new niches were made in the church.  The addition of these four statues brought a new colorful look inside St. John Neumann:

Meanwhile, plans were made for a new stained glass window. The church requested Henninger's to design an extra large stained glass window of Jesus and the Children to be fabricated and installed above the doors at the entrance of the church.

After the design was approved, Henninger's artists began the daunting task of making an 8' x 12' window with 15 panels of stained glass.













Photographs were used for models of the figures in the drawing. A holy card made the best model for Jesus' face.

After the stained glass was complete, Henninger's crew cut the opening in the interior wall, framed it, and installed it with a steel support frame.

The completed window finished St. John Neumann's renovation.  A bright, colorful new look for a vibrant community.

St. Philip Neri Marble

Henninger's recently completed an installation at St. Philip Neri Church in Fort Mill, SC.  The parish is finishing up their new church and the altars, ambo, and holy water font were a few of the last pieces pieces finished in the church.  The relationship between pastor Fr. John Giuliani and Henninger's began with a referral from Fr. Raymond Carlo, pastor of St. Michael Church in Garden City, SC.  Fr. Giuliani contacted Henninger's to supply his new church with sanctuary furniture.  He explained that the parish had outgrown its worship space and the new church would be finished in 2013.

The following drawings were submitted and approved by Fr. Giuliani:

The ambo and altars of sacrifice and repose would be made out of new slabs of Rojo Alicante and Bottacino Classico.  A carved lamb symbol from Henninger's warehouse was selected as the centerpiece of the altar of repose. 



Finally, Father picked a baptismal font from Henninger's warehouse and asked for the bowl to be hollowed out and the top to be removed.



Cutting, polishing, and assembly by Henninger's marble craftsmen continued for months until the pieces were finished and ready for delivery and installation.  The following pictures detail the installation process and finished pieces.

 The new sanctuary will be dedicated on May 3rd, 2012.

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