The building we now use for worship at Our Lady of the Rosary parish was built over fifty years as a temporary measure. The Butler building was going to be used as a church for a short time until a church could be built. Then it was going to become the school gym.
In the 1970s a gym and middle school were built for the school and the Butler building continued to be used for worship. Over the years it was expanded and renovated several times.
In the early 2000s Fr. Charles Day, who was pastor at the time, formed a building committee and began the project to build the new church. They got as far as the parking lots, then Fr. Day retired. Fr Dac Tran OFM was appointed as parish administrator and continued the work of the building committee.
The committee worked hard and selected an architectural firm. The architects visited the parish and consulted with the parishioners about the sort of church they would like to build. By this time the Vietnamese community had joined the parish and they were also consulted about the new church. The process got stalled however, because of Diocesan regulations and bureaucracy. Nevertheless, Fr Dac Tran and the committee made good progress and a basic floor plan and exterior sketch was produced by the architectural firm.
Current Events
In the summer of 2010 Fr. Dwight Longenecker took over as parish priest from Fr Tran. He met with the building committee and sensing that they were not totally happy with the current architect, began to explore the possibility of working with a young church designer in Charleston named Andrew Gould. During the first year of this process the diocese, under the leadership of the new Bishop Guglielmone, established a more workable and parish friendly building policy.
Fr Longenecker applied to the Diocese for formal permission to have a capital campaign and building program and in May 2011 Bishop Guglielmone gave permission for the parish to move to the next step. The Building Committee then commissioned Andrew Gould to produce schematic drawings for a floor plan and elevations for a Romanesque style church which would seat about 600.
The floor plan is an expanded and improved version of the plan from the first architect. The church balances the parish’s desire for a traditional church layout with the liturgical needs springing from the second Vatican Council. The Romanesque style specifies a style which was vague under the first architect and brings into focus the wishes of the parish for a distinctive, traditional and yet contemporary building.
The Way Forward
By September 2011 the Building Committee are working hard with Andrew Gould to agree to contracts to move the building program on to the next step. At the same time the members of the Capital Campaign committee are preparing to launch the public phase of the capital campaign at the beginning of October.
By the Spring of 2012 we hope the capital campaign will have reached its target, the estimates from contractors will be in and the Diocese will have reviewed our parish financial situation. If necessary we will borrow some money from the Diocese and break ground as soon as possible.
There is still much work to be done, and many decisions to be made. We need commitment and enthusiasm from our whole church family to finally build a beautiful and worthy church for Our Lady of the Rosary Parish.
Check for Updates
As things move forward there will be more and more information to share with the whole parish family. Fr Longenecker will keep you informed during the announcements at Mass, through inserts in the parish bulletin and through the website. Please take the time to be informed and involved, and if you have any questions or comments do not hesitate to email or speak to Fr Longenecker or members of the Building Committee.