Sanctuary Update

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

In the summer I spoke about building a singular sanctuary platform, and in September I gave the conceptual drawing of what it would look like.

As of this weekend, construction has begun! There will be two phases for the sanctuary platform: first, the building of a basic platform itself, and later, the finishing of the platform with the material chosen for the flooring. The first phase is being done by Lionel Demers, a local carpenter, and he estimates it will take about two weeks. This will leave us with a functional platform that we’ll use until we’re able to finish it with the flooring material. We’re currently looking at two different options for the types of material: 1) a similar granite as used for the baptismal font in our narthex; and 2) oak hardwood stained in a similar gold colour as the other oak trim and doors in the church. Both materials seem to tie in well with the rest of our church and make the new addition seem natural and harmonious. The finishing of it is likely to happen in the summer of 2027. In the meantime, we’ll paint the wood of the functional platform itself, so it doesn’t look too rough and unsightly. In addition, Lionel will be modifying the wall of the chapel slightly where the window used to be so that the tabernacle, once moved back into the sanctuary, can fit into the wall of the chapel and sanctuary.

To account for the fact that Lionel is building in the church for two weeks, we were able to move everything a bit so we can still use the church for the celebration of Mass, especially on the weekends with the bigger congregations. Everything has been moved forward from where the new sanctuary platform is being built and the seating remains largely the same, just a bit closer now.

So, things will be a bit awkward and different for a couple of weeks, but we’ll be back to normal pretty soon, and once everything is finished with the new flooring next year, it will be worth it! Thank you for your patience and support.

Fr. Brian Trueman