St. Michael Church in Hastings undergoes rejuvenation
Story by Mary Kroner
Hastings (SNR) - The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “Our visible churches, holy places, are images of the holy city, the heavenly Jerusalem, toward which we are making our way on pilgrimage.”
Father Jeremy Hazuka, pastor of St. Michael Parish in Hastings, likes to describe a church building as an “icon of heaven,” which is the hope for St. Michael Church, which has been undergoing renovation since spring of 2021.
The first Mass celebrated in the rejuvenated church took place Oct. 29. Bishop Conley is scheduled to celebrate Mass Saturday, Dec. 18 for a rededication of the altar. Until then, the parish will utilize a temporary altar.
The renovation was made possible by funds donated through the Joy of the Gospel campaign launched in 2015, which was a remarkably successful effort to support the important ministries of the diocese including the education of children, the formation and retirement of priests, the proclamation of the Gospel, and the work and ministry of every parish.
The renovation of St. Michael’s was originally projected to cost $335,000, with $232,000 raised from the Joy of the Gospel campaign.
See parish updates and photos here.
“Because of other gifts for the project that the parish has received, we were able to do some extra components of the project. Now, the cost is about $373,000 and about $234,000 of Joy of the Gospel funds are being used for the project,” Father Hazuka explained.
He discussed the significance of the architectural beauty of churches, saying, “Beauty, as one of the transcendentals, reveals God’s presence and draws us into what is divine.”
The importance of beauty is also stressed by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who said, “The profound connection between beauty and the liturgy should make us attentive to every work of art placed at the service of the celebration.”
Father Hazuka hopes that a physical “rejuvenation” of the church building will be a step toward a spiritual “rejuvenation” of the parish community, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and other struggles the Church has faced, both universally and locally, in the last few years.
“I especially hope that people will be drawn to the church building itself both for Mass and Eucharistic adoration. Sometimes, even curiosity can be doorway through which Christ draws people to Himself and unleashes His grace,” Father Hazuka said.
The project was entrusted to the guidance of Jean and Char Kriz.
Parishioner John Reining said the rejuvenation updated the 1968 sanctuary “into something that ties into our existing architecture of the church, but brings back the traditional elements of the original focal points of all the churches, having the crucifix and tabernacle into the middle of the sanctuary.”
He said the existing Mary and St. Joseph statues were brought up to the altar area in new niches to enhance the sanctuary.
“The Krizes did a beautiful job bringing the original altar and tabernacle stand into new elements of the church,” he said. “They reused the same marble and granite into the new altar and ambo.”
Father Hazuka said from the very start, the parish wanted to reuse or repurpose as many of the furnishings from the church as possible.
“We weren’t able to save everything with the redesign of the sanctuary,” he said, “but we are able to reuse the statuary, the tabernacle, holy water stoops, and pews were all refinished so they may be used in our ‘rejuvenated’ church.”
Most of the new baldacchino, or canopy above the main altar, is built from the original sanctuary floor.
“When they demolished the old floor,” Reining said, “I pulled nails in the plywood sheeting and the 2x10 floor joints and they were able to reuse them in the new build and saved money that way on the project.”
The granite from the main altar, ambo and tabernacle altar were all used for reconstructed sanctuary furnishings.
“This is one of the reasons why I’ve called the project a ‘rejuvenation’ and not a ‘renovation’” Father Hazuka explained. “It’s taking what was good, though showing its age… and ‘rejuvenating’ it without a complete disconnect from the way the church looked before.”
The church does have a new look, though, he said. The pulpit has been brought forward, and there are new altar rails. The original side niches have been redone as side devotional areas dedicated to St. Michael and the Sacred Heart.
Reining said there have been “quite a few people” in the parish who have been able to donate their time and talents to this project in various ways.
“It helps give everyone a sense of ownership in this rejuvenation to beautify the house of God,” he said.
