Search
St. Joseph Co-Cathedral pulpit restoration project comes to fruition
-
July 8, 2020
The original pulpit that stood in St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux from 1923 until 1977 was restored into the church’s new ambo, which was unveiled and blessed by Bishop Shelton J. Fabre recently.
The following description of the original pulpit appeared in The Lafourche Comet on Oct. 22, 1931. “The pulpit, within the sanctuary, is said to be something rather rare in this section. The base is of black and white marble, but the platform and the frame of the panels are made of solid walnut, hand-carved, as well as the canopy or sounding board, with a carved lambrequin, in imitation of the baldachino of the main altar. In the center of the panels of the pulpit have been inserted different kinds of marble. The panel facing the faithful represents an eagle supporting a Gospel book.”
Sometime in 1977, the pulpit and the marble communion rail was demolished and removed from the church. Some remnants were stored in the church basement where they stayed for 41 years until February 2018. Some of the marble inserts from the pulpit were also found hidden in one of the closets in the rectory. Upon the discovery of the objects, Very Rev. Vicente DeLa Cruz, V.F., pastor of the co-cathedral since January 2018, says he was inspired to start a restoration project.
The first step was to clean the pulpit of 41 years of dirt, dust and debris, followed by the delicate process of removing pieces the old wood that needed to be restored, duplicated and reattached. To replace the missing marble inserts, Father DeLa Cruz, V.F., designed new fillers. For the large openings, a gold-painted “screen” was made with the outline of the rose window that appears on the façade of the church flanked by the flowers in the diocesan coat of arms (fleur de-lys and the Easter lily).
For the small openings, four small Italian-made marble-resin statues of the Gospel writers were installed on top of small wooden pedestals. The small openings have gold trim to match the gold screens. The restored pulpit stands on a four-column pedestal painted to look like faux marble to match the columns/pillars of the main altar.
A two-step stair with a hand rail was also installed. The wood of the ambo was stained to match the color of the church pews. In addition, a new lectern was built to compliment the restored ambo. To enhance the ambo, as well as help the lectors and clerics to read, new lights were also installed to flank it.
Father DeLa Cruz, V.F., says the church and community is indebted to Mr. H.J. Roger, the project’s supervisor; and Mr. and Mrs. Tommy Thomassie and family, along with the crew of Thomassie Construction, Inc., for the restoration of the old pulpit into the church’s new ambo.