Renovations - Article 8

Cathedral parishioners to relocate during 18-month renovation project

By Nancy Westlund, Herald staff

It’s probably not topping the list of things he would most like to do this summer, but Father James Murphy, rector of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, is designing a master relocation plan for Masses, religious education classes, and youth group meetings during the 18 months the cathedral will be closed for renovation.

The renovation is scheduled to begin Aug. 4 and includes opening the dome, seismic upgrades, roof repairs, and remodeling the interior and lower level of the church.

The last Masses in the cathedral will be celebrated on Sunday, Aug. 3, including a closing ceremony at the 5 p.m. Mass celebrated by Bishhop William K. Weigand.

During the closure, parishioners will attend Masses and religious education classes in three locations: at two neighboring Catholic churches, Immaculate Conception and St. Elizabeth, and Westminster Presbyterian Church at 1300 N Street. Father Murphy said the locations were chosen to accommodate the needs of more than 2,000 people who typically attend Mass each Sunday.

“We wouldn’t fit into either of those Catholic churches alone,” he said. He added that scheduling daily and some Sunday Masses at Westminster offered several advantages including that it is walking distance from the cathedral and its location downtown is close to state workers who frequently attend noon Mass.

Religious education classes in English will be held at Immaculate Conception on Saturday and religious education classes in Spanish will be held on Sunday morning, followed by the Spanish-language Mass.

Classes for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, the youth group and bible study classes are tentatively being scheduled to meet at St. Elizabeth Church.

Such events as weddings for parishioners only, ordinations and concerts will be relocated to large Sacramento-area churches such as Sacred Heart and St. Francis of Assisi parishes.

Father Murphy said the remodel is an inconvenience, but there is a silver lining.

“It’s a pilgrim experience. We’re leaving our home for 18 months waiting to come back into this gorgeous, newly-renovated cathedral,” he said. He likened the situation to the story from Scripture of the Israelites in the desert for 40 years searching for the promised land.

Of primarily importance, he added, is that people who come to the cathedral from as far away as Solano County will return when the project is completed.

“We hope they will. We have to hold this community together, and we will do it,” Father Murphy said.

A model of the restoration plans, which shows how the building will appear when the dome is opened with the tabernacle in its new position at the east end, will be on display in the cathedral near the north entrance until construction begins in August.

Work on the dome may be the most challenging aspect of the project, but Christian Brother William Woeger, director of the office of worship for the Archdiocese of Omaha, Neb., the liturgical design consultant for the remodel, said design plans promise to express the theology of the Catholic faith in poetic artistry.

The presence of Christ in the liturgy will be depicted in 16 eucharistic medallions with images from the Old and New Testaments portraying the life of Christ. At the apex of the dome a stained glass lay light will illustrate the Holy Spirit in the center of a star-filled sky.

One of the measures taken to ensure that the cathedral’s newly painted interior and art will be preserved for future generations is the decision to install an exhaust system in side chapels where the parish typically places as many as 13,000 candles a month. Because private devotions are very much a part of the Catholic prayer tradition, Father Murphy said the parish is determined to make space for that devotion.

Arrangements are being made for docents wearing hard hats to conduct tours of the cathedral as construction begins in August. Tours are also planned following the completion of the project in 2005.

An information center, located in the Bishop Patrick Manoque Building at 1119 K Street, will feature a display of historic photographs dating back to 1889.

Father James Murphy, rector of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, calls the relocation “a pilgrim experience.”Cathy Joyce/Herald photo

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Page Last Updated April 26, 2004