Press Releases

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, [...]

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 [...]

‘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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]