Cathedral of St. Raphael Repairs & Upgrades

Thanks to your sacrificial gift, Phase I of repairs is now complete at the Cathedral of St. Raphael, our Mother Church in the Archdiocese. 

Monsignor Toale said of beginning Phase I repairs, "I must admit that knowing in a project like this, unexpected surprises arise, created some apprehension. When we began work on July 15, reality set in that we are really doing this!"

Although surprises did arise, like the unstable soil under the parking lot which required a great deal of excavation and matting, sidewalks in need of additional repair the entire project, and learning there were no footings under the mortuary chapel column, with good stewardship of funds (see an example of this below!) raised through ArchdioceseOne, we still ended up coming UNDER budget by $97,361. Great news!! 
  This first phase of the project provided water mitigation solutions, to prevent excess water coming down the bluff from entering the Cathedral campus buildings. It also saw a repaved parking lot. Other than the Bluff street entrance to the rectory, the entire campus is now accessible (see the revamped, ramped rear entrance to the Cathedral at right). 

If you would like to see additional photos of Phase I projects, you can do so here:  

More Phase I Photos. 

Phase II (2022) of the project will include the roof and tuckpointing of the Cathedral and rectory where needed.

To date, $1.5 million has been raised for the Cathedral of St. Raphael Repairs & Upgrades thanks to your generous support, exceeding the total project cost of Phase I ($1,034,096). With the resumption of the special appeal in 2022, others will have the opportunity to make gifts of support as well to continue supporting the necessary repairs and upgrades of our Mother Church. 

Msgr. Tom Toale and a group of Cathedral parishioners volunteered to lay the mulch at the back of the new parking lot on a recent weekend. This act of stewardship saved $2,000 in expenses! Thank you to those who volunteered their time and talent to complete this project.