Bishop William K. Weigand presided at a Mass of re-dedication of the newly-restored St. Vincent Ferrer Church on Sept. 14 in Vallejo.

The renovated church opened with new pews, a new altar, a varnished ceiling, refinished woodwork, a new baptismal font, a devotional chapel, restored stations of the cross, and a renovated choir loft.

The restored St. Vincent Ferrer Church opened with new pews, a new altar and baptismal font, refinished woodwork and a renovated choir loft. Luis Gris Elizarrarás/Herald photo

The church had been closed since June 2001 for restoration, with Masses held in the gymnasium. As part of the renovation project, a 128-year-old bell was returned in May to the clock tower of the church, where it was originally installed in the late 1800s.

“We are not just about this restored building, but about building a Christian community of love and caring, compassion and justice,” noted Father Stephen Borlang, parochial administrator.

“We hope this will be a place where people’s faith can take hold in their daily lives,” he said. “Buildings are necessary, but they aren’t the end focus of what we are about as Catholic Christians.

“This is not so much about change as it is about restoration,” he added. “People and their families and ancestors have lived their faith lives around this church for almost 150 years.”

Dominican Sister Adele Gerlach, pastoral associate, noted that parishioners’ input was crucial to the project, which began in the “grassroots” stages nearly five years ago.

“Most of the ideas came from parishioners,” she said. “We wanted to incorporate and preserve as many of the original elements of the church as we could, or in some cases, go back to the original elements and restore them.”

She said the cost of the project was approximately $1.5 million, with funds pledged by parishioners projected to cover most of the costs, although donations are still needed.

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