Press Releases

Brand new wood gold painted tabernacle designed and created for St. Mary’s in Hagertown, Maryland.

Project #: P-2040 Location: Hagerstown, Maryland Project Type: Altar ware, Tabernacle, Liturgical Design Date: July 2023

Frederick, Maryland – The Blessing of the Antique Stained Glass Windows at St. John Evangelist Church

The Blessing of the Antique Stained Glass Windows at St. John Evangelist Church

Frederick, Maryland— September 8, 2023 — A new set of stained-glass windows was blessed on Sunday September 8, 2023 at St. John’s Evangelist Church in Frederick, Maryland on its 260th anniversary. King Richard’s Liturgical Design and Contracting rescued the stained-glass windows from a [...]

New 3.5 Foot Monstrance from KR Arrives in its New Home.

Project #: P-2033 Location: Gastonia, North Carolina Project Type: Altar ware, Monstrance Date: January 2023

Statue from KR travels to Convocation in Charlotte, NC.

Project #: P-2023 Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Project Type: Statuary

The Citizen’s Voice – Scranton, PA

Relics from shuttered churches get new life BY JACOB SEIBEL, STAFF WRITER Published: March 8, 2015

A third-generation parishioner stood outside of what remains of the revered Holy Trinity Lithuanian Church in Wilkes-Barre and sighed.

Looking at what were mostly empty windowpanes, Mary Anne Revit recalled what she missed most about the ornate monument known as “the gem on [...]

Winfield parish rescues church’s old frames for a picture-perfect ending

Winfield parish rescues church’s old frames for a picture-perfect ending

Fourteen historic frames have been returned to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Winfield and once again hold paintings of the Stations of the Cross.

The handmade frames, believed to date to the 19th century, were sold by the church during a restoration seven years ago [...]

Berkshire religious items find a new home

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JoAnn at the altar in Mississippi

JoAnn Hauge of Lanesboro was excited when she opened the Feb. 26, 2010 copy of The Catholic Observer.

“I was thrilled to see the altar from my home parish was featured and was now being used in a parish in Mississippi,” she said.

JoAnn, a native of Adams, [...]

King Richard’s Religious Artifacts Retrieval and Restoration: Antique Religious Items

By Shawn Tribe

Tuesday, January 9th, 2007

It’s always with bitter-sweetness that one sees sites such as these; bitter because of the fact that they’ve been removed from churches that likely rid themselves of these beautiful bits of our heritage, but sweet insofar as there is hope to reclaim them again to such use.

A reader sent in [...]

King Richard’s Adds Well-Respected Liturgical Designer to Staff

King Richard’s Adds Well-Respected Liturgical Designer to Staff

Atlanta, October 18th, 2010

Los Angeles based liturgical designer and consultant Rhett Judice has joined King Richard’s liturgical Design & Contracting as the firm’s first full-time, in-house designer. He will travel to King Richard’s offices in Atlanta and Dallas, and work with the company’s national and international customers, providing [...]

The Most Beautiful Adoration Chapel In America?

By Larry and Mary Sue Eck

Photos by Denis Kubat

The pictures, good as they are, don’t do it justice. You really DO have to be there.

People walk through the doors and gasp. Some burst into tears. Most stand awestruck. Front and center is the Monstrance and it is beautiful. Mary stands on one side and Joseph, [...]

‘A dream come true’

‘A dream come true’

By Gretchen R. Crowe

Day turned into night as parishioners of St. Theresa Parish in Ashburn celebrated the dedication of their new spiritual home last week.

Gathered around the shiny bronze doors of the brick and stone structure, hundreds of parishioners – hoods up and umbrellas out – watched as Arlington Bishop Paul S. [...]

Baltic, Connecticut Church Gets a Major Altar-ation

By Ted Mann

The Day of New London

Sprague — Frank Caron stood near the sanctuary of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church last Tuesday afternoon. The pounding of hammers was deafening, the floor was dusty and strewn with tools, but he was smiling.

“It’s beautiful,” said Caron, 77, a lifelong member of the church. “No [...]

St. Anne stained glass to be sold off

St. Anne stained glass to be sold off

By Shawn Boburg

LAWRENCE – Even before yesterday, the interior of the century-old St. Anne Church didn’t see much light, only sprinkles of color from the 12 stained glass windows that ran high along its curved apse.

One by one, those last radiant panes were removed yesterday and replaced with [...]

Far away, treasures of faith resurrected

Far away, treasures of faith resurrected

By Dennis Shaughnessey

LOWELL – A glimpse through the glass doors at the Sacred Heart Church on Moore Street reveals and empty sanctuary, several broken church pews, sawdust, rubble and little else. Former parishioners of the church, which closed its doors in 2004, have been dispersed to other churches in and [...]

St. Stephen church to be razed

St. Stephen church to be razed

Former parish site will serve spiritual, educational and social needs of neighborhood

SOUTH BEND – The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend has announced that St. Stephen Church, 1102 W. Thomas St., South Bend, will be razed this month. However, the former parish site consisting of about two acres will continue to [...]

Trucks haul off church memories

Trucks haul off church memories

By Steve Barnes

WATERVLIET — As twilight settled on Saturday night, workers from an Atlanta religious artifacts company trundled a pair of life-size statues from the former St. Patrick’s Church.

Through the gloom beneath the 137-foot bell tower, they looked to be Mary and Joseph, each holding a baby. Surrounded by the frame [...]

Historic bells to ring in new church

Historic bells to ring in new church

By Joanne Glamm

A crane lifts more than a ton of century-old metal away from a brick enclosure, lowering the historic sound maker to the ground.

The process is repeated to bring two more bells down to a cement landing outside St. Joseph Catholic Church in northeast Le Mars.

The bells are [...]

A Generous Gift

A Generous Gift

Submitted by Fr. Eugene Harrison

Fr. Richard Thibodeau, pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish, was pleased to receive and bless a new, uniquely designed baptismal font in St. Mary’s Assumption Church in New Orleans on December 2. The font was commissioned by anonymous donors and reflects the style in which St. Mary’s is constructed. Executed [...]

Saint Aloysius Parish…reborn!

Saint Aloysius Parish…reborn!

By Hugh McNichol

Part of Gray’s Ferry in Dixie!

Growing up in Gray’s Ferry had its great spiritual benefits. Living within a cluster of 3 parishes, all within walking distance made going to Sunday Mass an easily attainable ritual. With Saint Gabriel Church, King of Peace Church and Saint Aloysius Church all within the boundaries [...]

Saints of the Americas Celebrated in Peoria

Saints of the Americas Celebrated in Peoria

By Jack Wintz, O. F. M.

About a year ago, Sacred Heart Church in downtown Peoria, Illinois, reopened its doors after an 11-month renovation that dramatically changed its artistic appearance. Amazingly, almost everybody likes the new look.

Perhaps the most magnificent and unique features of the new church is the 29 [...]

St. Benedict’s Gives Church Fresh Anniversary Look

St. Benedict’s Gives Church Fresh Anniversary Look

By Stephen O’Kane

JOHNS CREEK – It was only four months ago that the interior of St. Benedict Church did not look much like a sanctuary at all. Extensive scaffolding had replaced the pews and the usual colorful decor of the church was swapped for bare walls and floors.

On Saturday, [...]

Rescuing, Restoring, Recirculating

Resucing, Restoring, Recirculating

ATLANTA – Rick Lair is a man on a mission. He drives 100,000 miles a year, buying, selling and delivering religious artifacts, in his quest to make sure they find the appropriate new home.

For more than a decade, his business, King Richard’s Religious Artifacts, has helped churches, schools, convents, hospitals and monasteries in [...]

Window to the soul

Disposing of Catholic Sacred Articles on Ebay

Dispoing of Catholic Sacred Articles on Ebay

By Hugh McNichol


As a Catholic Church, we need to be quite sensitive about the disposition of sacred articles that are no longer being used in our parishes.

A trend developing is finding Catholic sacred articles on places such as E-Bay or other online salvage sites. The real problem with [...]

Glorious renewal of God’s house

Glorious renewal of God’s house

By Ann Carey

After decades of sparseness, new church construction and renovations reconnect with symbols and styles of the past

When the Second Vatican Council closed in 1965, a new liturgical movement swept the country that stressed the function of a church over its design. Accordingly, many of the churches built after Vatican [...]

Artifacts from St. John Cantius in Northampton serving new purpo

Artifacts from St. John Cantius in Northampton serving new purposes

By Chad Cain

NORTHAMPTON – St. John Cantius parish may have closed more than two years ago, but its spirit lives on via religious artifacts that have found homes in other Catholic churches, some of them hundreds of miles away.

An altar was removed Tuesday and hoisted onto [...]

New baptismal font dedicated at St. Mary’s Assumption

New baptismal font dedicated at St. Mary’s Assumption

By Beth Donze

On Dec. 2, Redemptorist Father Richard Thibodeau, pastor of St. Mary’s Assumption Church, blessed a new baptismal font commissioned by anonymous donors and crafted in Italy. The font mirrors the 1858 church’s German baroque style and incorporates numerous elements of its architecture. For example, the Carrera [...]

A church is reborn in Peoria

A church is reborn in Peoria

By Toni Cashnelli

The view from the choir loft at the renovated Sacred Heart Church.

Photo by Rick Lair

The goal of the renovation of Sacred Heart was a simple one:

“Fr. Larry wanted to make it look like a church again,” says Rick Lair, whose company, King Richard’s Religious Artifacts, played a major [...]

New altar arrives from overseas

New altar arrives from overseas

By Jerry Buxton

Sewerd — The waiting was over at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday. Father Rene Guesnier expected the new altar for St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church to arrive around 9:30, so it was not very late.

The new white marble altar arrived in a Ryder truck, brought all the way from King Richard’s [...]

Catholic treasures … returned to Catholic Churches!

Catholic treasures … returned to Catholic Churches!

As a Catholic Church, we need to be quite sensitive about the disposition of sacred articles that are no longer being used in our parishes. A trend developing is finding Catholic sacred articles on places such as E-Bay or other online salvage sites. The real problem with these sites [...]

Building a church … lets buy back our Catholic heritage!

Building a church … lets buy back our Catholic heritage!

A marble Angel of the Lord (1 of 2 angels)salvaged from the former Saint Aloysius Church in Philadelphia, being held hostage by King Richard’s Religious Antiques.Throughout the United States, there was a terrible practice of designing our Catholic Churches as “multi-purpose “buildings. Often such a designation [...]

Diocesan feast day chosen

Diocesan feast day chosen

By Dan McWilliams


Visitors to the Chancery office in Knoxville now have a tangible reminder of the newly designated diocesan feast day.

Workers in late August installed next to the front doors of the building a marble statue of the Blessed Virgin presenting the baby Jesus to the world. Inscribed beneath the statue [...]

St. Joseph in Charleston prepares for renovation of Pews

St. Joseph in Charleston Prepares for Renovation of Pews

By Amy Wise Taylor – The Catholic Miscellany

Charleston – St. Joseph Church will begin some long-planned interior renovations in July.

Father Gabriel J. Smith, pastor, said they are taking out their old pews and installing new ones. The process is expected to take about six weeks, but hinges [...]

Annunciation Parish transforms school into church

Annunciation Parish transforms school into church

By Terry Dickson

KILN – From the outside, Annunciation School resembles your typical school building.

However, take one step inside and you will hardly believe your eyes at the transformation that has occurred, as what once was an average, run of the mill gymnasium has become a beautiful worship space for Annunciation [...]

When Churches Close

When Churches Close

By Joseph Pronechan

ALPHARETTA, Ga. — When some churches were closed and their interiors sold, confessionals with donor plaques still on them turned up as telephone booths in an eatery. Donors’ relatives were understandably upset.

While objects from dismantled churches still appear on eBay and at antique dealers to some degree, most fine religious art, [...]

Stained glass

Stained glass “a way of sharing the faith”

By Leslie Renken

No one knows who made the first stained glass windows. Some of the earliest examples date to the first century, A.D.

And while the materials have improved since then, the tools used by stained glass artists have changed very little.

“We had an artist once who told me [...]

Recycled church artifacts become financial blessing

Recycled church artifacts become financial blessing

By Richard Robbins

Looking for a new processional cross for the chapel at the Geibel Junior-Senior High School, the Rev. Bob Lubic discovered a treasure trove of significant religious items, including stained glass windows, altar furnishings and a tabernacle.

“I was thrilled,” Lubic said. As school chaplain, Lubic has spearheaded the renovation [...]

All Souls Dedicates New Church


All Souls Dedicates New Church

By Betty Ann Weber

Sanford’s All Souls Church was 121 years in the making. On August 15th, parishioners honored that past and celebrated their future by dedicated a new church building for the historic parish. History records a trio of churches in Sanford bearing the name of All Souls. The first [...]

As City Parishes Close, Their Artifacts Find new Life in the Sub

As City Parishes Close, Their Artifacts Find New Life in the Suburbs

By Michael Alison Chandler

For the first 20 years of his life, The Rev. William P. Saunders recited the Lord’s Prayer in a church intended to be a Catholic school gymnasium. Although surrounded by cold, cinder-block walls, he found solace in the hand-carved crucifix and [...]

Parishioner fundraisers help pay for upgrades, renovations

Claire Pilon – Canada

Parishioners of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Chelmsford gathered on the weekend to celebrate the dedication of the end of renovations and restoration to the interior of their church.

The Celebration of the Eucharist was presided over by the Bishop of the Diocese of Sault Ste Marie, Monsignor Jean-Louis Plouffe.

The church was [...]

Need a griffin?

By Mary Daniels


As an environmental contractor who does asbestos and lead paint removal for demolition cmopanies, Rick Lair came across countless architectural artifacts–from griffins and North Wind faces to stained glass and bronze radiator covers–that were being neglected or destroyed.

Lair began salvaging and storing these historical pieces in his warehouse, garage, attic, basement and [...]

Glorious Renewal of God’s House

Glorious renewal of God’s House

After decades of sparseness, new church construction and renovations reconnect with symbols and styles of the past.

By Ann Carey – Huntington, Indiana

When the Second Vatican Council closed in 1965, a new liturgical movement swept the country that stressed the function of a church over its design. Accordingly, [...]

Church artifacts migrate

Church artifacts migrate

By The Washington Times Sunday – June 11,2006

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The altar was old. It was ornate. And it was on the gambling floor of the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas. The Rev. James Lang was startled when he saw it there. Father Lang, vicar of parishes for the Roman Catholic [...]

Niche Market Success

Brookhaven Buzz
Atlanta, GA

Tim Kelly

Rick Lair, owner of King Richard’s Religious Artifacts, is a man on a mission. He drives 100,000 miles a year buying, selling and delivering religious artifacts to churches, religious organizations and certain individuals. For more than a decade, Rick has helped churches, schools, convents, hospitals and monasteries across America as well [...]

Crews salvage Windows to History

By Terry Wilson – Chicago, IL

Tribune Staff Writer

Inside the hull of a North Side church that looked as if it had been ground zero for a fairly large bomb, a small crew of workers chiseled stone Saturday to remove and save valuable stained-glass windows.

Working in Buena Memorial Presbyterian Church, 4301 N. Sheridan Rd., the workers [...]

Saving Another Historic Theater

King Richard’s, LTD., a Chicago-based architectural salvage firm, continues its efforts to rescue valuable artifacts from the wrecking ball. In a recent one-week span, the NADC member completed three salvage operations in Chicago on structures built in the early part of the century.

King Richard’s took advantage of an unseasonably warm spring week to mobilize its [...]

New life is found for Catholic church artifacts

By Craig Smith, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, December 5, 2011

As a seminarian, the Rev. Joseph McCaffrey knelt before a tabernacle in the chapel at Mercy Hospital, where his mother was being treated for a brain tumor, and prayed for her recovery.

Later, when he was named pastor of Ss. John and Paul Church in Marshall, he noticed [...]