Partners In Faith: St. John the Baptist Cathedral

Restoration of cathedral to be completed in three phases;
Phase one nears completion

PATERSON  It sounds almost like a scene from a movie. In the attic of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here, as renovations got under way, more than a century-old handmade tools are found, dusty but fully intact. These tools were likely used by the neighborhood blacksmith located on Grand Street at the time of the original construction of the cathedral. These finds tell just a small part of the story that weaves the rich history of the neo-Gothic cathedral with its artistic treasures from its priceless stained glass windows to its inspiring Stations of the Cross.

In his column in the Dec. 18, 2014 issue of The Beacon, Bishop Serratelli wrote: “…We are repairing it, restoring it and renewing it not simply because it has shown its age and has fallen into disrepair; not simply because it has great artistic value and is a truly vibrant pastoral ministry. No! We are engaged in this noble work, because the Cathedral is the church of the Diocese of Paterson.

“The very identity of the diocese is expressed in the stones of this building. It is here the cathedra, the bishop’s seat that symbolizes his role as teacher and shepherd of the whole diocese, is found. Just as every priest shares in the priesthood of his bishop, so too, every church in a diocese takes its meaning from the bishop’s cathedral. Every other parish church is a chapel to the cathedral.

“Our cathedral of St. John the Baptist, great edifice that it is, is more than a building. It is the chosen place where God gathers us together as the Church of Paterson, to speak to us, to strengthen us and to fill us with his grace. This sacred site is worthy of our best efforts, for it expresses what we think of ourselves as the Church of Paterson.”

Rebeca Ruiz-Ulloa, diocesan architect, and Dennis Rodano, diocesan business and facilities project manager, have been overseeing the cathedral project to ensure the diocese’s Mother Church, dedicated in 1870, rises above the Paterson skyline for generations to come. Because of the generous pledges and donations of so many through Partners in Faith (PIF), the diocesan capital and endowment campaign, the historic restoration to the cathedral is under way.

“The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist started as a church built by struggling Irish immigrants, who were proud that they built a beautiful church dedicated to God,” Ruiz-Ulloa said. “The continuation of preserving its beauty for future generations is a privilege for the faithful of the diocese and a way to give thanks to those first immigrants for their commitment and love of God.”

On Dec. 9, 1937, Pope Pius XI named the Church of St. John the Baptist as the Cathedral, or seat of the bishop, for the new Catholic Diocese of Paterson which he established that day.

The cathedral was closed in late fall 2010 following a partial ceiling collapse and since then, the cathedral restoration team has conducted numerous surveys and inspections of the entire building. As the PIF campaign was being planned more than three years ago, a limited structural survey was completed to define the scope of the work. Being fiscally responsible, all work and planning was ceased awaiting the outcome of the PIF campaign.

“With the generosity of the faithful of the diocese, we were able to restart the planning and began with more detailed structural surveys and inspection of the cathedral,” said Rodano.

These included the heavy timber trusses that support both the ceiling and the roof in the attic, the footings, foundation and floor joists in the crawl space and the entire brown stone façade of the cathedral’s exterior.

Rodano said, “As feared, these inspections produced a substantial list of structural deficiencies, far greater than originally planned that we need to address to make the cathedral safe.”

The restoration of the cathedral will be done in three phases. The first phase, which is currently being undertaken and will be completed in a few weeks, includes the repairs to the heavy timber trusses. Scaffolding is completed and masonry survey and repairs have resumed with warmer temperatures. “As the weather warms, you will begin to see workers on the scaffolding making the repairs to the façade of the cathedral, which is the second phase,” said Ruiz-Ulloa.

This work is scheduled to be completed during the summer. The third phase, which is the most complex according to the restoration team, includes all the interior renovations. Recently, the diocese has received the bids and is currently conducting the analysis to select a general contractor for this phase.

As the restoration team works on reopening the cathedral, it is expected the project will be done in the fall 2016. For monthly updates on the cathedral project, the faithful are invited to visit the diocesan website, www.rcdop.org, for history, restoration details and photo updates of the work in progress.

“While we want to see our cathedral reopened, we need to make well-informed decisions so generations that follow will be able to worship in this space. We are honored to be part of the team whose purpose is to preserve the history of our beautiful cathedral,” said Ruiz-Ulloa.