Red Bluff

Artisans working on restoration of Red Bluff church

Sacred Heart Parish in Red Bluff is in the midst of a major renovation to return its historic church interior to the original luster of its 1906 opening.

In the process, many are finding themselves closer to the angels — the colorful ones itinerant Italian artist Luigi Brusatori painted on the ceiling.

“It’s a real honor to be able to get this close to Luigi’s art, and to see the detail and the brush strokes,” said Father Michael Hebda, pastor of Sacred Heart, as he used a solvent to carefully clean grimy layers from an angel’s wings. “You can see the love, care and expertise that went into creating these works.”

He was standing on ceiling-high scaffolding that stretches the length and width of the church. Artisans from EverGreene Painting Studios, a company based in New York, perch on the wooden planks as they repair cracks in the plaster, then clean and in-paint the circular portraits of the apostles.

“Each of the apostles is a surprise. We’re amazed at what we find under the soot,” Father Hebda said.

The cleaning process has revealed an interplay of intense, vibrant colors: cranberry reds, splashes of lime green, the mauve of an angel’s wings.

“I would never think these bright colors would go together. But they work — and work beautifully,” he said.

Father Hebda taught art for 21 years before becoming a priest. He enjoys spending his free time helping with the project, which began in January and is expected to last 12 weeks.

During the renovation, weekend Masses are being celebrated in the parish hall. Tim Luzak, EverGreene project manager, said the goal is to reopen the church by early April for Holy Week services.

The original color is being restored to the walls, ceiling beams and all artwork, including the Stations of the Cross. The altar and statues are being cleaned, along with pews and the wooden frames of the stained glass windows.

“This is a true restoration. We’re putting the church back to the way it originally was,” Luzak said. “We’re slaves to the original.”

EverGreene crews have done restoration work for an eclectic mix of theaters, cathedrals, statehouses and government buildings, including the U.S. Capitol, Seattle’s Union Station, the Library of Congress and Radio City Music Hall in New York.

Recent work in California includes the Cascade Theatre in Redding and the Fox Theatre in Stockton. In late summer, EverGreene artisans will begin work on the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento.

“I enjoy doing churches more than anything else, because they really mean something to people,” Luzak said.

The bare stucco behind the side altars in the church revealed several layers of colors, from gold to green, that have been used over the years. EverGreene painters are going back to the original golden ochre color.

“The heavier color will ‘ground’ the main part of the church. The ceiling will be much lighter and appear to soar away,” Luzak said.

While often mistaken as frescoes, the ceiling art was actually done on canvas in a studio then affixed to the plaster.

“Luigi did a spectacular job,” Luzak said as he pointed out the oval portrayals of the apostles and the Evangelists.

“Each one is a very individual portrait,” he said. “All the decorations in the church tell a story. They’re not randomly chosen.”

Italian-born Brusatori, who studied art in Milan, was an itinerant artist in California for several years in the early part of the 1900s. Few details are known about the work he completed before returning to Italy, but he also is recognized as the artist who painted murals inside St. Francis of Assisi Church in San Francisco.

His masterful creations for Sacred Heart helped the church gain a designation in the National Register of Historic Places. Listed under its historic name of St. Mary’s Parish, the church was nominated in 1980 while Father Michael Dillon was pastor, and was entered into the registry in 1982.

The brick structure, which was designed by noted California architect William Henry Weeks, has both Gothic and Romanesque characteristics. The dominant geometric features of the perfectly symmetrical facade are the twin towers and a huge circular stained-glass rose window.

The late Father Philip Brady, appointed pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Red Bluff in 1904, built the structure, which was dedicated as Sacred Heart Church by Bishop Thomas Grace on Oct. 7, 1906.

Parishioners have contributed monthly to a special restoration fund since 1998. Contributions from parishioners to the diocese’s recent capital campaign, “Preserving Our Past, Building Our Future,” also have funded the centennial restoration project.