Catholic church needs $40 million to renovate churches
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
By COREY CONNELLY, SUNDAY NEWSDAY
Already faced with a depleting flock and mounting concerns about a persistent lack o candidates
for the priesthood, the local Roman Catholic Church is said to be in the hunt for $40
milllion….Read more….
Already faced with a depleting flock and
mounting concerns about a persistent lack of candidates for the
priesthood, the local Roman Catholic Church is said to be on the hunt for
some $40 million to restore/renovate two of its historical churches in
Port-of-Spain, including the majestic Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception.
And while a formal decision is yet to be taken on the way forward for both
structures, Sunday Newsday understands that the huge cost of
rehabilitating the Cathedral to its pristine glory, in particular, stunned
several priests when the issue emerged during meetings of the clergy at
Tunapuna and Curepe within recent months.
Initial estimates were in the vicinity of about $28 million, but several
priests were concerned about how much of that sum would ultimately go
toward consultancy fees as opposed to the actual project, Sunday Newsday
learnt.
High-ranking church officials told Sunday Newsday that some priests
wondered whether it was prudent to repair a church at that cost or rebuild
a cheaper one.
They indicated, though, that the overall figure for rehabilitating the
Cathedral and Sacred Heart RC Church, at the corner of Sackville and
Richmond Streets, needed to be re-calculated at a follow-up meeting with a
view to itemising the specific tasks to be carried out and the anticipated
cost for each job.
This had not been done at the last meeting, sources said.
“It is understood that the clergy discussed this proposal and some priests
raised questions about it because it did not have with it a breakdown.
“It came to them as a ‘guestimate,’ rather than an estimate. There was too
much garrulous chatter without facts,”one church official said in an
interview on Wednesday.
And, to compound the problem, several lay people were reportedly peeved
that they had not been consulted about the plans to restore the Cathedral
during the meetings, it was also learnt.
“Some of them said the Cathedral belongs not only to the clergy but to all
of us,” the official said.
The meetings, which dealt with several issues, were said to have been
organised by Roman Catholic Archbishop Edward Gilbert. He also attended
the sessions.
“Once there are meetings of national importance, particularly regarding
the restoration of churches such as the Cathedral, the Bishop is in
continual consultation with the clergy,” said the official, who did not
want to be named. Noting that speakers were very vocal in their
contributions, the official said during the deliberations, several priests
raised concerns about whether the Cathedral was in the right place or
should be relocated or even sold. Sunday Newsday understands that
Chaguanas had been suggested as one of the possible relocation sites.
The official was shocked by this suggestion. “Chaguanas? Where in
Chaguanas? That area is congested,” the official declared.
“The people who talk really do not know the country. Talk is cheap. Talk
is free.” For the most part, the official said, attendees agreed that the
Cathedral should remain in its existing location, downtown Port-of-Spain.
One group, he said, felt that they were happy that the Cathedral was
situated in what may be considered to be the poorer section of
Port-of-Spain “because the church always has to identify with the poor
from the gospel.”
“And, if our Cathedral was not in that part of the city, we will be easily
identified with the rich and take plenty licks,” he said.
People could say it is noisy for worship or there are vagrants that
disturb. They feel that Catholics have to take all that in their stride
because the church is where it meets a need.”
Well-known Roman Catholic priest Fr Garfield Rochard endorses the view
that the Cathedral is a source of refuge and solace to many people working
in the capital city.
“Therefore, to relocate it might be to put the church in a nice, quiet
place insignificant to people’s needs,” he argued in an interview on
Wednesday.
“The Cathedral is a place where the people can go in and out because it
meets their needs. The majority of the people in Port-of-Spain have to
pass near that Cathedral. It touches them, even externally. They don’t
even have to go inside. It is a landmark.”
An imposing sight at the eastern end of the Brian Lara Promenade on
Independence Square, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is perhaps
the most enduring symbol of Roman Catholic life in Trinidad and Tobago.
Steeped in history, the church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was
constructed by the British in a new gothic style between 1815 and 1832.
Designed by architect Philip Reinagle, it was built in the form of a Latin
cross with limestone from the nearby Laventille hills and is adorned with
beautiful stained glass windows, a distinctive peach-coloured facade and
unique pentagonal altar.
This signalled a marked departure from what obtained previously.
The first church in the capital city was a wooden structure built in 1781
at Tamarind Square. It had a capacity to seat 500 people.
Later, at the turn of the century, it became evident that the church was
too small and a decision was taken to replace it with a more permanent and
larger structure.
The foundation stone for the Cathedral was laid on March 24, 1816. And on
February 23, 1851, it was consecrated by the first Archbishop of
Port-of-Spain, The Most Reverend Patrick Smith.
In the 1860s, there was no other church in Port-of-Spain but the
Cathedral. As a result, it encompassed Roman Catholic faithful as far as
Newtown, St Ann’s and Maraval
Since that time, several churches have been constructed to cater to the
respective Catholic communities in and around Port-of-Spain, but the
Cathedral remains the preferred choice for many significant Roman Catholic
celebrations and other major spiritual events.
For example, the funeral services of several prominent nationals -
including the country’s first and only local Archbishop Anthony Pantin and
prolific Laventille pan man Rudolph Charles – were also conducted at the
church. In fact, Pantin’s remains have been stored beneath the Cathedral,
in a crypt designated for bishops, since his death on March 12, 2000.
Although the Cathedral has withstood many trials, the ravages of the years
have taken its toll.
Rochard, who served as administrator of the Cathedral almost two decades
ago, recalled that the church had first been renovated in the 1960’s
during the tenure of then parish priest Fr Norman Gray.
“The Dominicans were living there and the Cathedral was under renovation.
They did the floor. They did over the roof and then, subsequently, an
earthquake threw the cross off the structure,” recalled Rochard, parish
priest at the Church of the Assumption in Maraval.
He noted that the Cathedral had been closed for about two years to
facilitate the renovations.
Later, Rochard recalled that during his term, a thorough facelift had been
done within the interior of the building.
This included repainting and a general upgrade to its signature stained
glass windows. Electronic organs were also introduced at that time, he
recalled.
Now, the Cathedral is said to be in need of extensive renovation work,
which may include altering the structure of the roof.
“A decision has to be made on whether or not to change the structure of
the roof to take slates. They must also examine the benefits of putting a
slate roof,” one source said.
The large amount of water that accumulates in the guttering during heavy
rainfall has also been a lingering concern over the years, he said.
“The guttering cannot take the amount of water so it is destined to fall
alongside the outside of the walls or the inside of the walls of the
structure. And one of the biggest problems with this is the limestone. So,
they may have to use a new material to repaste the walls,” the source
added.
According to the official, the interior of the Cathedral must be
modernised to address the problem of the homeless, who sometimes saunter
obliviously through the church during masses and other activities.
“Every church has vagrants, some more than others,” he argued.
“If we had to run from the vagrants we might as well close down. Jesus
said, “The poor you will always have.”
As for the potential for violence and crime, he insisted: “You cannot
escape it. One has to work towards the society we knew before. It can
happen.”
Preservation of the crypt also received some focus during the discussions.
“They may have to redesign the crypt for the burial of bishops. The water
level downtown is high and there are only about six crypts left. The rest
we cannot see them because they disappeared with time,” an official said.
Any overall plan for the restoration/renovation of the Cathedral has to be
done within the context of a heritage building, the official suggested.
“The State may only give eight percent or about $2 million and the
archdiocese may have to raise a certain figure every year. It seems that
the archdiocese may have to budget an annual sum and the work has to
become piecemeal,” he said.
“But, at this point, you still have not heard what has to be done and a
little cost estimate of each. That has not been said. All we have are
guestimates at this point.”
The question that must be asked, according to the official, is whether the
projects were being viewed as museum pieces or as catering to a living
community that worhips frequently.
“You have to have a certain degree of relevance. One has to follow the
rules of church worship,” he said
He recalled that the Vatican, 40 years ago, had ruled that certain
institutions be carried out.
“These were things that were done 400 years ago and they have not
changed,” the official said.
“You restore your church but you have to make it modern and relevant. You
don’t restore things of antiquity that have no use.”
He said one also had to admit that restorations of churches and heritage
buildings can never be completed in one year.
“It goes over a long period of time and you do piece by piece. The
building is not falling down,” he said of the Cathedral.
Outspoken priest Fr Clyde Harvey agreed.
As parish priest of another historic church, Our Lady of the Rosary, at
the corner of Park and Henry Streets in Port-of-Spain, Harvey can speak
with some authority about the length of time it takes to rehabilitate such
structures.
“When you think about a restoration, a lot of Cathedrals took centuries to
build. Restoration always takes time,” he said in an interview on
Thursday.
Harvey, who also served at Maloney and San Fernando in the past, learnt
this lesson the hard way.
He was assigned to Rosary Church in December 2006 at a time when
renovation work on the structure was supposed to have been completed.
To date, Harvey said, the church, which was originally expected to cost
$15 million, is far from complete “and I don’t know what the figure is
now.”
“It is nowhere near completion. I don’t have a date and I am very
disappointed,” he stressed.
“I accepted the job thinking it would have been completed and that it
would not have been my problem.”
Harvey said the project, which began in 2005, was being undertaken by
Construction Restoration Maintenance Services Limited (CRMS).
Built by the French with labour from descendants of African slaves in the
1800s, the church has been a stabilising force for some of the most
depressed communites in East Port-of-Spain “over the bridge” and remains a
powerful symbol of that era, said Harvey.
Its rehabilitation, Harvey said, includes complete restoration work to the
exterior, a new roof, cleaning and treatment of the external walls and a
complete interior upgrade.
Despite the setbacks, he said he has managed to have regular services
“under difficult conditions.”
Sacred Heart Church, also due for upgrade at a projected cost of $12
million, is said to be in dire need of a complete structural overhaul,
involving a change in the roof – since the last one was replaced in the
1980s – and the refurbishment of its classic stained glass windows.
The Gothic-styled church, situated in a cramped space along Richmond
Street, was constructed for English- speaking Catholics in 1882, but is
served, at present, from the Cathedral.
However, its foundation stone was laid in 1880 by then Archbishop Louis
Joachim Gonin.
The church’s stained glass windows coupled with its Stations of the Cross
are said to be among the best in the country.
The church’s grotto, which is visible to passers-by, is dedicated to Our
Lady. And, to the right hand side of the main entrance, one can find a
shrine dedicated to the saints.
The official said architects may have to play a key role in determining
how the rehabilitation efforts were to proceed.
“In essence, it is a battle between architects and their view about
retaining structures that have created problems for management and the
decision to either restore or renovate,” an official said.