Restoration 2003

As we celebrate the repair and restoration of our St. Ignatius Loyola Parish Church, we are grateful to God for the many blessings He has bestowed on us as a parish family. 

We remember the faith courage and generosity of the early founders of St. Ignatius Loyola parish who worked so closely with Father Ignatius Goetz to establish the parish and erect our first Church building, the cornerstone being laid on August 21, 1859.

As the years passed and the Catholic community continued to grow in Hicksville, the need for a larger Church building became apparent. Again, it was a vision born of faith and carried out with courage and generosity that Father Fuchs, the pastor of St. Ignatius, and the people of the parish built a new Church. Now in the year 2003, we enjoyed a restored and renewed Church.

This renewed Church building is at the heart of our parish. I pray that it will be a sign of our faith and a challenge for constant renewal of self. May the parish family of St. Ignatius Loyola always be aware that God has been with us through all these years. He continues, through the Holy Spirit, to give us courage to move forward as disciples of the Lord  Jesus. We should never lose sight of the call to share our blessings with all our brothers and sisters in the human family.

- Rev. Msgr. Donald T. Bennett, Pastor
  April, 2003

The Nave

All pews were removed and refurbished. All the kneelers were replaced. When the pews were reinstalled, they were positioned to provide more room for sitting and kneeling by removing four rows. The carpet was removed removed and the floor was overlaid with plywood, which would provide a smooth and level base for new floor floor tiles and carpeting. All of the doors, except the main doors, have been replaced by new mahogony doors. The main doors were removed, repaired and refinished to match the other doors. The Stations of the Cross were refinished and their appearance enhanced. The water-stained ceiling panels were painstakingly painted to match the rest of the ceiling colors, which have been aged by time. All interior walls were painted as well as the columns.

St. Ignatius Statue

He remains over the main entrance but his new mounting actually places him in his original setting when he was on the 1891 alter. The niche used was one of the two that were on the altar mounting that held St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier. Thankfully, it was preserved in the basement after the 1971 renovation. This niche and all the restored pieces of the 1891 church that were used were beautifully refinished.

The Sanctuary

The sanctuary and transept areas were recarpeted and the sanctuary was reconfigured to accommodate the restoration of the tabernacle into the main body of the church. The tabernacle itself is the original one installed in the 1891 altar. The table upon which it rests is the actually sections of the 1891 main altar that was carved at St. Joseph's orphanage in Columbus Ohio. The organ speaker tower behind the new tabernacle continues to house the speakers but its appearance was remarkably and beautifully changed by recovering it with gold damask. The ambo (pulpit) has been moved from the north side of the altar to the south side to give balance to the sanctuary area.

The Altar

After an absence of thirty-two years, the altar stone that was placed in the 1891 altar was rediscovered and fitted into out present main altar, which had none. The altar stone contains relics of martyrs and recalls the time in the early church when Mass was offered in the catacombs over the sarcophagi (tombs) of the martyrs.