A view of the renovated St. Mary Catholic Church in Menasha Oct. 9, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A Fox Valley church is getting national attention for its renovation.
St. Mary Catholic Church unveiled the changes over the weekend.
The 1883 Gothic revival church now features a new paint scheme inside. Gold stars are spread across a dark blue ceiling. Historical appearances of the Virgin Mary are depicted in 12 paintings. The altars have also been restored.
“The original paint scheme was at least as — maybe more elaborate than the current one. But over the years, it got progressively simplified and eventually just turned into fields of solid color, and the most recent paint scheme was just sort of beige on beige. When that started to fail, we thought, okay, time to repaint it again. We said, let’s go back to something like it would have been,” parish trustee emeritus Bill Walsh said.
The renovation project was featured in the Liturgical Arts Journal, which spurred donations from around the country to add to the parish fundraising, which paid for the project.
Future phases of the renovation could include restoration of the pews and flooring.
Parish leaders opened the church for tours this week. Tours are scheduled on Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
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