St. Bernard Church will close April 1 for renovations expected to last for most of the rest of this year.
“Everything will take place at St. Francis until the restoration is done at St. Bernard’s,” explained restoration committee member Tom Arrowsmith. “Our hope is to be back in St. Bernard’s for Christmas, but that’s a fairly ambitious schedule based on what we have to do.”
Arrowsmith recounted the path that has led St. Bernard Parish to this juncture.
“I graduated from Bradford Central Christian in 1965 and St. Bernard’s had a Mass at 7 a.m., 8, 9, 10, 11 and noon; St. Francis had three or four Masses and two or three at Our Mother of Perpetual Help, all of which were very well attended,” he said.
“The Catholic community has declined much like the region’s population has declined,” he said, explaining there used to be seven priests.
Currently, the parish has two, the Rev. John Jacquel and the Rev. Jim Gutting. A retirement would leave one priest to take care of two buildings.
“It became apparent that we had a lot more building than was necessary,” Arrowsmith said. “There has been a lot of conversation over the last 10 years about what would be done.”
A committee was formed, comprising membership from all three parishes.
“The very difficult decision was eventually made to close Lewis Run (Our Mother), leaving St. Francis and St. Bernard’s. The long-term decision is to keep St. Bernard’s open — now, a million things went into that decision. We looked at a lot of data points.
“St. Bernard was the original church, it was built before the turn of the century in the 1890s; its historical significance and its importance to the downtown area,” he continued. “After that decision was made a restoration committee was developed.”
The church is in need of some restoration to the paint, plaster and carpet — a lot of things that needed repair.
Other than some minor issues with the floors under the marble side altars, the building is structurally sound, per two engineering studies.
Wood on the ceilings and the gold paint over the sacristy will be refreshed. He said the colors will change slightly.
“The rich gold yellow is popular with some and unpopular with others. We’re staying in that tone but a softer color.”
Those marble altars, for which there is no longer any liturgical need, will be removed and replaced with pedestals. The statues will remain.
The original light fixtures from the late 1800s will also remain, but will be updated to shed more light.
Arrowsmith explained he was part of the first restoration discussion 10 years ago with the Rev. Ray Gramata.
“At that time the bishop slowed us down because he wasn’t sure what was going to occur,” with the pastoral restructuring plan.
“We started talking about this so long ago that we have had some very generous bequests directed toward restoration,” he said, adding they have not had an active fundraising effort so far.
“We’re going to a very nice home here for a bit,” Arrowsmith said. “It’s a beautiful building. We’re fortunate if we don’t make Christmas, we’ll still celebrate Christmas in a beautiful church.
After the renovations are complete at St. Bernard’s, St. Francis will go through the same deconsecration process that Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Lewis Run completed in 2023.
The first step in the process will be to remove all the old pews at St. Bernard’s. All pews are available for sale at $100 each and can be picked up beginning April 1. While the 16 smallest, 66 inches, have sold out, there are still many left ranging in size from 75 inches to 14 feet.
All pews must be picked up by 3 p.m. April 5.
“Hopefully, as soon as the following week, we’ll be putting scaffolding in and beginning the tedious work on the paint and plaster,” Arrowsmith said.
He suggested the larger pews could be shortened by a skilled carpenter. He added that, “There’s been some discussion with Chip Comilla at the city about some pews for the ice skating rink, which would be a nice use.”
If interested, contact the parish office at (814) 362-6825.
Information provided at the dedication of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in October 1893 states, “The building is 146 feet in length and ranges in width from 54 to 72 feet. To the highest point of the arched ceiling from the floor it is 45 feet. The seating capacity is about 1,000. The pews, which are of excellent make, are of oak, and the wood finishing, flooring, etc., of Georgia pine. The interior is brightened by light fresco tints which are very pleasing to the eye. They give an effect that is beautiful and artistic, either in the glare of the electric lights at night, or by day, when the sunlight streams through the many-colored windows.”
