By Gary Rinne
Next month the main roof will be complete, but fund-raising efforts must continue
Thunder Bay’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral has become one of the most noticeable structures in the skies.
It’s impossible to miss the bright blue roof as a crew works on replacing it.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral’s metal roof will be installed by the end the summer. However, parishioners must pay $1.7 million to keep the structure protected from the elements.
A spokesperson for St. Patrick’s said that it was expected the contractors to finish their work by the month’s end.
Recent years have seen the original roof of this cathedral, dating back to 1963. It has been subject to periodic repairs as wind blew sections off rubber sheeting, exposing concrete beneath and allowing plywood rot.
Deacon Derek West says that to complete this project and $700,000 in other work, the church will need the assistance of individuals, businesses, and groups.
It is a Thunder Bay landmark, and we don’t have to be wrong when calling it iconic. This building is steeped in history. This window at the bottom – called the knave- is second in size for its type of glass. This is something that we are very proud of. We want the building to be durable.”
Members of church’s responsible for project joke that the durability of roof will be guaranteed forever because “there are lots of gray hairs” on the committee.
Once the roof has been installed, we will move on to the next phase of improvement.
West added that it was also necessary to replace the chapels at either end. West said, “They need to be changed because they leak.” In a possible third phase we could work on the roof. It’s up to the decision-makers, but it is certain that we will finish next year.
The community raised about a quarter of the amount needed to cover the main roof. But the call for donations continues.
In the next few months, we will be looking at other ways to raise money, like a 50/50 lottery.
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