By Kathy-Ann Gobin
DARIEN – A beacon of faith for almost 100 years in the city of Stamford, St. Mary Parish is poised to get a much-needed exterior restoration thanks in part to a partnership with sister-parish, St. Thomas More in Darien, and grants from Foundations in Faith.
“We are in the process of saving a beautiful French Gothic church,” said Father Gustavo Falla, pastor of St. Mary’s. “St. Mary is spiritually and pastorally vibrant, but we are in need of some financial assistance.”
Father Falla and two parishioners of St. Mary who have been working together to assess the restoration needs of the parish in conjunction with support from Foundations in Faith, which provides comprehensive support to enhance pastoral care for parishes and programs in the diocese, met with members of St. Thomas More to thank them for their financial assistance and update them on the status of the project.
“St. Mary’s is very grateful to St. Thomas More,” Father Falla said during a Finance Committee meeting at the sister church in Darien. “Thanks to your contribution, we were able to move ahead and cover costs to see what the architect can do for us.”
St. Thomas More, at the suggestion of Joseph Gallagher, Chief Development Officer for the Diocese of Bridgeport, agreed to donate $48,000 of its 2021 Annual Catholic Appeal overages to the St. Mary Water Infiltration project.
St. Mary’s has been plagued with water leaks and the funding afforded them the ability to properly assess the situation and carefully consider the best way to approach the repairs needed for the church, which was much more than simply replacing the roof.
“Virtually the entire building needs help in one place or another,” said Joe Aulenti, Finance Chairman for St. Mary’s, who presented color-coded architectural renderings to highlight where existing issues are throughout the exterior of the building. Red areas denoted water damage, pink represented flashing or gutter issues and black indicated missing or damaged slate on the historic church.
“With the weekend we just had there is water in the church,” said Aulenti and fellow St. Mary parishioner George Schiff agreed. “The main problem is water infiltration and it’s coming in from everywhere.”
The May meeting followed days of relentless rainfall in Fairfield County.
“Water damage is complicated. It’s not just a roof issue, it’s a multitude of issues contributing to the problem,” said Kelly Weldon, Director of Foundations in Faith. The organization has provided grants totaling $82,000 to study and diagnose the water issue, work with land surveyors, attorneys, planning and zoning experts, and for co-payments for Partners for Architecture drawings and bid documents.
Under the restoration plan, portions of the slate roof would be replaced with a metal roof and snow guards would be added. New gutters, leads and flashing would also be appropriately placed on the structure to mitigate inclement weather. Aulenti said regrouting is also necessary on some of the masonry on the façade of the church.
The project is currently out-to-bid but once started, it is expected to take eight months to complete in two different phases.
“If we start this summer, we can get the most critical phase done,” said Aulenti.
Phase One is expected to cost $2.2 million, and Phase Two is expected to cost $500,000 to $750,000. The total project for all the exterior work is expected to cost $3.4 million.
The architect has advised that any interior restoration work wait for at least two years to be completed just to ensure all exterior work is successful.
St. Mary’s is exploring options to raise the capital needed for the work, including potentially selling one acre of property that the parish is not using.
“We would not be in this good of a position without the funding from St. Thomas More,” Aulenti said.
The entire renovation project including repairs to the inside is expected to take about three to four years, Aulenti said, noting that many parishioners who are professional contractors in the painting industry are ready and willing to help.
The St. Thomas More finance committee extended an invitation to Father Falla to speak to parishioners at St. Thomas More at upcoming weekend Masses.
In turn, Father Falla welcomed the committee and parishioners of St. Thomas More to not only tour the Elm Street church but to attend the annual carnival fundraiser that will be held in June.
All agreed the nature of the relationship between the sister parishes should be comprehensive.
“You are our neighbors. This is what being a part of the Diocese means,” said St. Thomas More’s pastor, Father Paul Murphy. “We don’t want this partnership to be financial and bricks and mortar but a collaboration of sister parishes working together and incorporating families into that.”
“I think this is one of the best things our parish is doing,” said Joseph Roxe, a trustee for St. Thomas More.
Gallagher agreed, crediting Bishop Frank J. Caggiano with paving the way for this type of parish partnership.
“The community building between the two parishes is paramount,” he said, “It is a prime example of the collaboration between parishes being encouraged by Bishop Caggiano.”
“You’ve set an example for other parishes to come together in this special way,” Weldon said, adding that it is an opportunity for relationship and fellowship building in the diocese. “Thank you to St. Thomas More for joining us in this effort.”
