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November 4, 2024
There is major news from Our Lady of the Annunciation Monastery of Clear Creek in Oklahoma. Nearly 20 years after construction first began, preparations are underway for the completion of the monastery complex. The Crypt, Chapter House, Residences, and Porter's Lodge are already complete as well as the first level of the Upper Church and three sides of the Cloister. The Completion Phase will finish all of the remaining major buildings including the Church interior, Clerestory and Bell Tower, Westwork, Public Piazza, new parking lots, the Novitiate, Refectory, Library, and the completion of the Cloister. We are, needless to say, elated and honored to help bring Thomas Gordon Smith's vision to completion at Clear Creek.
September 12, 2024
After more than four and a half years, Mass has once again been celebrated at St Thomas Aquinas Church in Zanesville, Ohio!
"Zanesville St. Thomas Aquinas Church Reopens"
August 27, 2024
The Re-dedication Mass for St Thomas Aquinas in Zanesville, Ohio will be celebrated on September 8th.
It has been a long road of work and prayer for the parish from when structural issues were discovered with the roof back in 2020. The parish banded together for the many phase process to save, preserve, and finally revive their church. The first phase was the immediate installation of shoring and scaffolding to stabilize the roof until repairs are able to be made. The second phase "saving the Church canonically" occurred during the diocesan restructuring in 2021-2022 when the prayers and the dedication of the faithful lead to the decision by Bishop Fernandes to repair the church. In phase three, permanent structural fixes were made to the roof followed by our work to beautification the church as it steps into the future.
July 29, 2024
"More than 250 people gathered excitedly under a large tent July 28 to break ground on a new, larger Holy Spirit Church. After persevering through multiple capital campaigns over nearly 12 years, they were undaunted by the heat and the muddy construction site.
The $12.5 million building project is the parish’s response to its tremendous growth, which has topped 1,000 families driven by the escalating population in the Lake Norman area.
The 16,000-square-foot church will seat 675 people and feature traditional Catholic architecture with rounded arches, stained-glass windows, choir loft, baptistry, and twin towers bookending the main entrance.
The site blessing and groundbreaking ceremonies were led by Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv., and Holy Spirit’s pastor Father Carmen Malacari, with special guest Monsignor John McSweeney, who was instrumental in Holy Spirit’s early years. According to diocesan officials, the special liturgy before the groundbreaking, “Order of Commencement of Work to Build a Church,” was a first for the diocese...
...Handling the ceremonial shovels were Bishop Martin, Monsignor McSweeney, Father Malacari and Deacon Matt Reilly; architects William Heyer of Columbus, Ohio, and Scotty Smith with ADW of Charlotte; Mark Baucom from general contractor Hickory Construction; and Tommy Touchstone, head of the parish building committee.
As a civil engineer, Touchstone said groundbreakings are nothing new to him, but witnessing his parish’s big day was “a thrill.”
He said he’s proud of what the parish has planned in close collaboration with the diocese. “This church is going to be something that the diocese hasn’t seen before.”
Construction is expected to take 16 months, and parishioners hope to be worshiping in the new church by the end of 2025."
-"A High-Spirited Occation" Catholic News Herald
July 25, 2024
Many projects, both old and new, have been busy behind the scenes over the last year. Just in the last few months we have been:
- Carefully following the progress of construction at the Shrine of Christ the King for the first parts of Phase II, the start of restoration following the completed stabilization of Phase I. The church in Chicago, Illinois was completely devastated by a fire in early 2016 with the roof and much of the interior destroyed.
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Beginning the Construction Phase for Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Denver, North Carolina. The new Bishop for the Diocese of Charlotte, Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv, will be blessing the cornerstone on July 28th.
- Finishing the permit set for the renovation of the Mother of Mercy Chapel at St Charles Preperatory School in Columbus, Ohio.
- Working on the initial phases of a new build project for St Barnabas Orthodox Church in Sunbury, Ohio. A growing and thriving parish, they are excited to be planning for their initial and future home on their farmland site.
August 28, 2023
The new Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Denver, North Carolina is currently in the Design Development phase. This is a particularly exciting project to work on as Criteria Architect because not only have we designed a new classical church, we have also been working closely with the Diocese of Charlotte as they develop design norms for new churches. The Diocese of Charlotte started this process to create a shift away from modern mega-churches that became popular during past periods of parish consolidation. We are very proud to be consultants in this regard for Bishop Jugis.
August 14, 2023
Interior renovation is underway at St Matthew the Apostle Catholic Church in Gahanna, Ohio. This church was built in 2004 to replace an earlier 1960s modernist church. The renovation currently underway is the first of several planned improvements and consists of work in the Nave and Transepts. Improvements to the floor, ceiling, and Sanctuary will follow in the near future.
The original design hinted at a traditional cruciform plan with side aisles, but lacked refinement. Our renovation transforms the implied side aisles into true aisles with sloped ceilings and more clearly delineates the spaces of the Nave and side aisles with a monumental arcade. The Transepts, which were not well integrated into the original design, are treated as forms carved out of the Nave, and are accentuated with the classical Palladian motif.
The renovation also includes a new, more harmonious paint scheme. The Nave ceiling will be repainted at a later date.
July 28th, 2023
The monks at Clear Creek Abbey have been hard at work completing the finishes for their new East Wing and settling into the newest addition to their home.
June 26th, 2023
Statues of Sts Peter and Paul by sculptor Andrew Wilson Smith are now installed at the Cathedral of St Joseph in Jefferson City, Missouri filling the two niches flanking the portico entry doors.
May 15th, 2023
Even after the rededication ceremony, work still continues at the Cathedral of St Joseph. Granite bases have now been added to the portico columns and the frame for the Our Lady of Guadalupe mosaic arrived from Italy. The remaining stained glass windows are still in production along with the new organ. Stay tuned for more images of other newly completed work.
May 12th, 2023
Check out our pictures from the Rededication weekend.
May 9th, 2023
Read about the Friday's Rite of Rededication of the Cathedral of St Joseph in Jefferson City, Missouri from the News Tribune. The renovations of the Cathedral are being received with resounding success and praise from both the Cathedral community and the general public.
priests, deacons, bishops, seminarians and Knights of Columbus processed to the narthex of the church, followed
by attendees to the ceremony.
May 4th, 2023
Final preparations are being made at the Cathedral of St Joseph in Jefferson City, Missouri for the rededication. Both the rededication Mass on Friday May 5th at 10:30AM Central and evening prayer service in the Cathedral are being live-streamed by the diocese. Here are some sneak peek pictures of the exterior and interior with more to come soon!
March 23rd, 2023
Check out the Clear Creek Monks website for images from this winter's blessing of the East Residence Wing. His Excellency, Bishop David Konderla, blessed the new living quarters and Chapter Room following a public Mass on January 22nd. Following Terce and a conventual High Mass in the Upper Church, the public was invited to tour the Chapter Room and residence. This was the first and last time for the new wing to be open to the general public. In the "Ora et Labora" spirit, the Benedictines are doing much of the finish work themselves: painting, tiling, and installing wood trim (cut from oak trees felled on the monastery property). Eager to move in, the portion of the community of monks who had been staying in shed-buildings for years now have cells they can call their own.
January 5th, 2023
Congratulations to Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs for an honorable mention in the Sacred Art Prize 2022. Her work for St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church renovation project in Fort Wayne, Indiana was also a finalist in the Catholic Art Institute's competition (view all works here). See more about this beautification on our selected works page. Gwyneth is also working with us at the Cathedral of St Joseph in Jefferson City, Missouri. Below is a medallion she had recently painted for the main Nave spire (Left: model view showing the spire as seen from the Nave floor & Right: a close-up of Gwyneth's work as installed). She has several more pieces in the Baptistery of the Cathedral. Keep an eye on her website for their unveiling.
January 5th, 2023
Construction highlight at Clear Creek Abbey: copper fascias, gutters & downspout installation is almost complete. The temporary wall (image left) has been sealed and painted which covers what will one day connect to the future Library/Scriptorium expansion.
December 21st, 2022
Progress continues on St Joseph Cathedral in Jefferson City, Missouri. Photos will be uploaded soon!
October 31st, 2022
Construction is nearing completion for the East Residence Wing at Clear Creek Abbey. Mr Heyer led architecture students from Benedictine College on a tour of the construction site last week. The students were led by Professor John Haigh who worked with the late Thomas Gordon Smith on earlier phases of the Monastery. Students learned about traditional load-bearing masonry in a modern construction setting. George Carpenter, stone carver & blacksmith for the monastery, also shared thoughts on his work at the main entry tympanum stone carving.
October 31st, 2022
Renovations of The Cathedral of St Joseph for the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri is also making progress for a Spring 2023 dedication. The main entry façade with bell towers are being prepped for new limestone veneer and the arrival of 6 precast propylaea Doric columns and architrave that will support the copper portico. Inside, the sanctuary apse opening has been recessed per Bishop Marling’s original intent and workers have framed in the roof. Mosaics discussed in our last post are on their way from Italy for installation. Over the next few weeks, terrazzo and marble flooring will be installed along with more of the upgraded mechanical and lighting systems. Stay tuned for construction updates from the “Heart of Missouri.” You can also follow along at the Renovation page on the Diocesan website.
June 10th, 2022
Congratulations to St Charles Borromeo in Ft Wayne, Indiana for successfully completing their sanctuary beautification according to our designs. This was quite a change from the original design; a change that brings beauty through sacred geometry and natural materials. The oculus and shrine paintings are by Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs, the new cross by parishioners, the new corpus by ALBL Studios in Germany, the four new sanctuary lamps by Halper Lighting Solutions, Lighting design by Zinkon Creative Studio, and new marble by The Italian Marble Company, new terrazzo flooring by F&M Tile and all under the supervision of Schenkel Construction, Inc. The dedication with Bishop Rhoades was May 31st to much praise and fanfare from the parish.
February 9th, 2022
Mr. Heyer accompanied Bishop Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Misssouri to Verona, Italy to visit the workshop of Master Poli who is preparing new mosaics for the renovation of St Joseph Cathedral. The renovation will include multiple mosaics by Arte Poli. Mr. Heyer was able to discuss in person his recommendations and make selections on particular marbles and glass for the mosaics. The finished mosaics are scheduled to be delivered to the cathedral in November 2022.
October 5th, 2021
We recently had the pleasure of working with Blind Eye Restoration for the restoration of a set of Stations of the Cross. The painted copper panels had been ripped off the walls of the church many years ago and were bent, torn, and deformed in the process. With great care, the team at Blind Eye was able to bring them back to their full glory so they can be once again be installed in the newly beautified church.
