Final prep for dedication

It's been a tremendous few weeks with equally tremendous efforts by St Kateri parishioners and friends...

Gargoyles mounted and looking great...

Tiling, grading, seeding and straw all done... Pretty much a Thanksgiving miracle in my book. A truly impressive achievement up to and including Thanksgiving day by Tim Naas, Tony Cox, and many others. A few weeks ago I saw them and Dave McGuire and Adam Drone working in pouring rain to stay ahead of it. Sorry to those I didn't spot, and thanks to all!

Front door hardware is mounted and makes for a dramatic and memorable finished portal under the incredible tympanum by our sculptors Nancy and Andrea. 

Street cleaning courtesy of the Fire Dept!

The Boatistery rail isn't quite ready but the gate is here and temporarily mounted. 

Stations of the Cross donated by St Francis Xavier Parish (who also gave us these fantastic Windows) repainted by our hardworking artistic entourage and looking great. 

Lots of cleaning later, we couldn't be more excited to welcome parishioners and guests for Dedication Weekend!

Door Hardware

These are the door handles crafted by Hammersmith Studios. I really didn't know door handles could be this neat.

Baptismal Font progress

Gareth and Andi preparing the baptistery mosaic

Posts and structure are prepared for the rail. The blue is the same product as truck
bedliners, as an extra waterproofing layer.

Final placing and adjustments of the mosaic.

finishing touches pt. 1

Daprato Rigali Studios preparing the mensa for the main Altar

The nave floor is nearing completion... pews go in next week

How long since your last confession?

A/C units installed

And more...

A better shot of the pendants...

The sanctuary floor is in except for the bottom step, though at the moment you can mostly just see dust...

We're running out of stuff to do.

Well not really. But things are starting to appear more and more finished. Like this door!

You gotta admit that's a nice door. And there's the crucifix hanging up:

And some pendant fixtures:

And the last glass is in, in the lily Windows:

Sidewalks begun

St. Kateri Tower Parapet Installation

View from the Top

laying the final course of the parapet wall...

long way down from the bell deck...

Bathroom wall tile

Doug Hughes of Hughes Quality Flooring in Muddy, IL has begun setting wall tile in the bathrooms. It will match the floor and rise to the elevation seen here, with paint above. It's looking good!

Holy, Holy, Holy... arch boss model complete!

If you can picture a ceiling arch coming down to the point where it meets the wall, that's a common location for decorative trim or sculpture. A piece that fills in that corner is called a "boss," and we'll have ten throughout the church. We wanted some kind of angelic sculpture, as a reminder in art of the Hosts of Heaven who worship with us in every Mass. Nancy Drone has completed the sculpture and now it's off for casting. I don't know if I explained their position well, but they'll look fantastic!

Electric hook-up

Our permanent electric service is going in. This equipment yard will be something of an eyesore until we get a stone wall built enclosing it. It's not in the original contract because we thought we might find a better deal... working on that.

Home at last.

Popcorn Day revelers were invited to open house hours Saturday and several hundred came through the church. It was really special to see the building through the eyes of many who've never seen it before. There were lots of smiles, and more than a few tears.

The best part was the timing: Daprato Rigali Studio's crew was erecting the high altar even as our guests came through. After a solid week's work they had it complete. It's home!

Walk-through video

Just filmed a little walk-through today... here in 480p resolution. For other resolution options click here

Reredos (old high altar) Installation

Daprato Rigali Studios of Chicago arrived Tuesday to begin work on the piece they so carefully disassembled, cleaned and renovated, and stored. It's been in crated in the garage ever since, and it's great to finally see those crates opened again!

Interior archwork and some paint

The arch details are framed out and being covered in the south transept

Painting and light fixtures are complete in the back of the sanctuary, clearing the way for reredos installation

The view from the mezzanine level

Bell deck, furnaces, railing, rose window frames

The bell deck is closed in and being finished. Can't wait for them to be wired up and ringing again!

A nice row of furnaces, donated by the Gallatin County Tin Shop... thank them if you see them! The HVAC systems are residential grade units to allow for local maintenance - that's why so many.

The guttering really looks great in person. I never would have thought gutters would actually enhance the appearance of a building, but these really do.

Vintage Iron Design in Evansville has provided this sample of railing at the mezzanine and organ levels.

The aluminum frames for the rose windows are really massive... and now up in the church. They look great! Even though they're usually called "rose windows," Cram and Ferguson have designed them as lilies. St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks! This theme will be repeated around the church.

Onward and Upward, tower masonry

We're all pretty impressed with the scaffold system!

High and dry(wall)

Ceiling details shaping up over the Crossing. 

Arches over the arcade aisle/ambulatory are formed in the north side. 

Marble arrival

Unloading the new Altar and Baptismal font from Italy today!

Front portal and drywall progress