CHATHAM – A $3 million addition and renovation project at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church will improve access to the building, enlarge the sanctuary and include a prominent stained glass window facing Old Harbor Road.
The last time the Highland Avenue church was renovated was 1980, according to pastor Father John Sullivan. Accessibility has become a serious challenge; a chair lift at the back of the church is the main accommodation for those with mobility issues.
The centerpiece of the renovation will be a 30-by-30-foot addition on the south side of the building, facing the parking lot, that will accommodate a three-person elevator and serve as a side entrance for the church and the parish center in the lower level. Additional seating will be included in this area, which will also enlarge the sanctuary and allow the choir and organ to face the congregation, rather than being in the existing choir loft. Pews will also be replaced and reconfigured, new floor covering added and other cosmetic updates included in the project.
A stained glass window repurposed from the recently closed Sacred Heart Church in Fall River will be front and center on the new addition facing Old Harbor Road.
The church has launched a capital campaign to fund the estimated $3,025,000 cost of the project. According to Father Sullivan, $1.5 million will come from parish savings; $525,000 will come from the sale to the town of 5.26 acres of land off Meetinghouse Road which will be used for affordable and attainable housing; and the remaining $1 million will be raised through the capital campaign.
Several large gifts have already been received, he said.
"We're more than halfway to our goal," he said.
The project was in the works before he arrived at Holy Redeemer five years ago, Father Sullivan said. "It's been contemplated for years," he said. Along with making the entire building more accessible via the elevator, the work will allow the creation of a gathering space near the Highland Avenue entrance, which can also be used for additional seating, and the creation of a new sacristy. New rest rooms, system updates and fire, building and health code compliance work, required because of the extent of the work, will also be included in the project.
The original church building was built in 1916 and expanded in 1954 and 1980, according to the parish website. Because of the age of the original building, the project falls under the jurisdiction purview of the historical commission, which has held a preliminary review of the plans, said chair Frank Messina. Commissioners had no issues with the design by the Palanza Group of Mansfield, he added.
Churches everywhere are still feeling the impact of the pandemic, Father Sullivan said; he estimated attendance at Holy Redeemer is at 75 to 80 percent of pre-COVID levels.
"I hope the renovation project will be one of the catalysts that help reinvigorate the parish and its parishioners' faith," he said in a statement.
The parish has requested permission from the Bishop of Fall River to begin the work, Father Sullivan said, and church officials hope to start construction later this fall. The project is expected to take a year to 18 months; for at least some of that time the celebration of mass will be moved to Our Lady of Grace Chapel in South Chatham, he said.
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