Renovation, Restoration and Renewal

The parish complex remained virtually unchanged for more than 50 years after the 1929 and 1930 projects. Time took its toll on the church building and its art, which were badly in need of repair and restoration by the 1980s. In the meantime, the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) had called for a renewal of the liturgy, and the 1929 furnishings did not accommodate the renewed liturgy very well. It was time to get to work.

In 1985 and 1986, a group of 100 parishioners, guided by liturgical consultant Robert Rambusch, developed an ambitious program for the renovation, restoration and renewal of the church interior. Four subcommittees presented carefully formulated recommendations to the Renovation and Restoration Committee, and reported weekly to the parish at large. Walker C. Johnson, senior partner and historic restoration specialist with Holabird & Root, was hired as architect.

The major goals included restoring the original Byzantine decoration of the church, reshaping the worship space to conform to Second Vatican Council liturgical requirements, and making the facility accessible to people with disabilities. The fundraising program raised an initial $1.4 million in pledges for a project whose final cost was $2.4 million.

Construction began in August 1987. The upper church was closed between January and April 1988 for the rearrangement of the transept pews to face inward, the rebuilding of the altar table under the dome, and the relocation of the communion rail to the gathering space at the main entry. Work continued throughout 1989.

The 1929 main altar was removed from the front of the sanctuary, and some marble and the inlaid mosaics were reused in the new altar table. The towering baldachin was employed in a new eucharistic chapel in the southwest transept. The former sanctuary was restyled as a baptistry, completing the symbolism of the Tree of Life in the half-dome of the apse above, with four rivers flowing from its base.

Confessionals in the side aisles of the nave were removed to reveal rows of stained glass windows. New interior elements designed by supervising architect Walker Johnson included the baptismal font, ambry, tabernacle, chandeliers and brass stations of the cross.

What truly brought the sparkle back to the interior was the restoration of the original interior finishes by the DaPrato Rigali Company, with Angelo Gherardi serving as master painter. More than 30 different stencil designs were uncovered and reapplied on a rich gold background. Faux marble finishes in tan and green carefully hand-painted on the piers and columns left no surface without intricate patterning.

On the outside, a new combined entrance for the parish center and rectory allowed one elevator to serve the church and both facilities. The mosaic medallion embedded in stone beside the main door was taken from the 1929 sedilia (priest’s chair).

Eight years after the process began, the hard work of so many people culminated in a rededication celebration and consecration of the altar table by Joseph Cardinal Bernardin on January 22, 1989. Within the next year, the job was complete.

The renovation was well-regarded in the architectural and liturgical community. The project received an Honor Award for restoration from the Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art & Architecture (IFRRA) International Design Competition in 1991. Two awards were received for lighting excellence: an Award of Merit from the Chicago Lighting Institute in 1990 and the Edwin F. Guth Memorial Award of Merit from the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America in 1991.

Restoring the interior finishes was a painstaking job.


Blueprint showing the church prior to the renovations.


Compare the plan for the renovated church with the original floor plan. The altar has been brought forward into the center, under the dome; the pews have been rearranged and the confessionals removed; and the apse is now the baptistry.