Catholics want $40 millionBy COREY CONNELLY Sunday, March 14 2010
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Cathedral of he Immaculate Conception in Port-of- Spain....
Already faced with a depleting flock and mounting concerns about a persistent lack of candidates for the priesthood, the local Roman Catholic Church is said to be on the hunt for some $40 million to restore/renovate two of its historical churches in Port-of-Spain, including the majestic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
And while a formal decision is yet to be taken on the way forward for both structures, Sunday Newsday understands that the huge cost of rehabilitating the Cathedral to its pristine glory, in particular, stunned several priests when the issue emerged during meetings of the clergy at Tunapuna and Curepe within recent months.
Initial estimates were in the vicinity of about $28 million, but several priests were concerned about how much of that sum would ultimately go toward consultancy fees as opposed to the actual project, Sunday Newsday learnt.
High-ranking church officials told Sunday Newsday that some priests wondered whether it was prudent to repair a church at that cost or rebuild a cheaper one.
They indicated, though, that the overall figure for rehabilitating the Cathedral and Sacred Heart RC Church, at the corner of Sackville and Richmond Streets, needed to be re-calculated at a follow-up meeting with a view to itemising the specific tasks to be carried out and the anticipated cost for each job.
This had not been done at the last meeting, sources said.
“It is understood that the clergy discussed this proposal and some priests raised questions about it because it did not have with it a breakdown.
“It came to them as a ‘guestimate,’ rather than an estimate. There was too much garrulous chatter without facts,”one church official said in an interview on Wednesday.
And, to compound the problem, several lay people were reportedly peeved that they had not been consulted about the plans to restore the Cathedral during the meetings, it was also learnt.
“Some of them said the Cathedral belongs not only to the clergy but to all of us,” the official said.
The meetings, which dealt with several issues, were said to have been organised by Roman Catholic Archbishop Edward Gilbert. He also attended the sessions.
“Once there are meetings of national importance, particularly regarding the restoration of churches such as the Cathedral, the Bishop is in continual consultation with the clergy,” said the official, who did not want to be named. Noting that speakers were very vocal in their contributions, the official said during the deliberations, several priests raised concerns about whether the Cathedral was in the right place or should be relocated or even sold. Sunday Newsday understands that Chaguanas had been suggested as one of the possible relocation sites.
The official was shocked by this suggestion. “Chaguanas? Where in Chaguanas? That area is congested,” the official declared.
“The people who talk really do not know the country. Talk is cheap. Talk is free.” For the most part, the official said, attendees agreed that the Cathedral should remain in its existing location, downtown Port-of-Spain.
One group, he said, felt that they were happy that the Cathedral was situated in what may be considered to be the poorer section of Port-of-Spain “because the church always has to identify with the poor from the gospel.”
“And, if our Cathedral was not in that part of the city, we will be easily identified with the rich and take plenty licks,” he said.
People could say it is noisy for worship or there are vagrants that disturb. They feel that Catholics have to take all that in their stride because the church is where it meets a need.”
Well-known Roman Catholic priest Fr Garfield Rochard endorses the view that the Cathedral is a source of refuge and solace to many people working in the capital city.
“Therefore, to relocate it might be to put the church in a nice, quiet place insignificant to people’s needs,” he argued in an interview on Wednesday.
“The Cathedral is a place where the people can go in and out because it meets their needs. The majority of the people in Port-of-Spain have to pass near that Cathedral. It touches them, even externally. They don’t even have to go inside. It is a landmark.”
An imposing sight at the eastern end of the Brian Lara Promenade on Independence Square, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is perhaps the most enduring symbol of Roman Catholic life in Trinidad and Tobago.
Steeped in history, the church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was constructed by the British in a new gothic style between 1815 and 1832.
Designed by architect Philip Reinagle, it was built in the form of a Latin cross with limestone from the nearby Laventille hills and is adorned with beautiful stained glass windows, a distinctive peach-coloured facade and unique pentagonal altar.
This signalled a marked departure from what obtained previously.
The first church in the capital city was a wooden structure built in 1781 at Tamarind Square. It had a capacity to seat 500 people.
Later, at the turn of the century, it became evident that the church was too small and a decision was taken to replace it with a more permanent and larger structure.
The foundation stone for the Cathedral was laid on March 24, 1816. And on February 23, 1851, it was consecrated by the first Archbishop of Port-of-Spain, The Most Reverend Patrick Smith.
In the 1860s, there was no other church in Port-of-Spain but the Cathedral. As a result, it encompassed Roman Catholic faithful as far as Newtown, St Ann’s and Maraval
Since that time, several churches have been constructed to cater to the respective Catholic communities in and around Port-of-Spain, but the Cathedral remains the preferred choice for many significant Roman Catholic celebrations and other major spiritual events.
For example, the funeral services of several prominent nationals - including the country’s first and only local Archbishop Anthony Pantin and prolific Laventille pan man Rudolph Charles - were also conducted at the church. In fact, Pantin’s remains have been stored beneath the Cathedral, in a crypt designated for bishops, since his death on March 12, 2000.
Although the Cathedral has withstood many trials, the ravages of the years have taken its toll.
Rochard, who served as administrator of the Cathedral almost two decades ago, recalled that the church had first been renovated in the 1960’s during the tenure of then parish priest Fr Norman Gray.
“The Dominicans were living there and the Cathedral was under renovation. They did the floor. They did over the roof and then, subsequently, an earthquake threw the cross off the structure,” recalled Rochard, parish priest at the Church of the Assumption in Maraval.
He noted that the Cathedral had been closed for about two years to facilitate the renovations.
Later, Rochard recalled that during his term, a thorough facelift had been done within the interior of the building.
This included repainting and a general upgrade to its signature stained glass windows. Electronic organs were also introduced at that time, he recalled.
Now, the Cathedral is said to be in need of extensive renovation work, which may include altering the structure of the roof.
“A decision has to be made on whether or not to change the structure of the roof to take slates. They must also examine the benefits of putting a slate roof,” one source said.
The large amount of water that accumulates in the guttering during heavy rainfall has also been a lingering concern over the years, he said.
“The guttering cannot take the amount of water so it is destined to fall alongside the outside of the walls or the inside of the walls of the structure. And one of the biggest problems with this is the limestone. So, they may have to use a new material to repaste the walls,” the source added.
According to the official, the interior of the Cathedral must be modernised to address the problem of the homeless, who sometimes saunter obliviously through the church during masses and other activities.
“Every church has vagrants, some more than others,” he argued.
“If we had to run from the vagrants we might as well close down. Jesus said, “The poor you will always have.”
As for the potential for violence and crime, he insisted: “You cannot escape it. One has to work towards the society we knew before. It can happen.”
Preservation of the crypt also received some focus during the discussions.
“They may have to redesign the crypt for the burial of bishops. The water level downtown is high and there are only about six crypts left. The rest we cannot see them because they disappeared with time,” an official said.
Any overall plan for the restoration/renovation of the Cathedral has to be done within the context of a heritage building, the official suggested.
“The State may only give eight percent or about $2 million and the archdiocese may have to raise a certain figure every year. It seems that the archdiocese may have to budget an annual sum and the work has to become piecemeal,” he said.
“But, at this point, you still have not heard what has to be done and a little cost estimate of each. That has not been said. All we have are guestimates at this point.”
The question that must be asked, according to the official, is whether the projects were being viewed as museum pieces or as catering to a living community that worhips frequently.
“You have to have a certain degree of relevance. One has to follow the rules of church worship,” he said
He recalled that the Vatican, 40 years ago, had ruled that certain institutions be carried out.
“These were things that were done 400 years ago and they have not changed,” the official said.
“You restore your church but you have to make it modern and relevant. You don’t restore things of antiquity that have no use.”
He said one also had to admit that restorations of churches and heritage buildings can never be completed in one year.
“It goes over a long period of time and you do piece by piece. The building is not falling down,” he said of the Cathedral.
Outspoken priest Fr Clyde Harvey agreed.
As parish priest of another historic church, Our Lady of the Rosary, at the corner of Park and Henry Streets in Port-of-Spain, Harvey can speak with some authority about the length of time it takes to rehabilitate such structures.
“When you think about a restoration, a lot of Cathedrals took centuries to build. Restoration always takes time,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
Harvey, who also served at Maloney and San Fernando in the past, learnt this lesson the hard way.
He was assigned to Rosary Church in December 2006 at a time when renovation work on the structure was supposed to have been completed.
To date, Harvey said, the church, which was originally expected to cost $15 million, is far from complete “and I don’t know what the figure is now.”
“It is nowhere near completion. I don’t have a date and I am very disappointed,” he stressed.
“I accepted the job thinking it would have been completed and that it would not have been my problem.”
Harvey said the project, which began in 2005, was being undertaken by Construction Restoration Maintenance Services Limited (CRMS).
Built by the French with labour from descendants of African slaves in the 1800s, the church has been a stabilising force for some of the most depressed communites in East Port-of-Spain “over the bridge” and remains a powerful symbol of that era, said Harvey.
Its rehabilitation, Harvey said, includes complete restoration work to the exterior, a new roof, cleaning and treatment of the external walls and a complete interior upgrade.
Despite the setbacks, he said he has managed to have regular services “under difficult conditions.”
Sacred Heart Church, also due for upgrade at a projected cost of $12 million, is said to be in dire need of a complete structural overhaul, involving a change in the roof - since the last one was replaced in the 1980s - and the refurbishment of its classic stained glass windows.
The Gothic-styled church, situated in a cramped space along Richmond Street, was constructed for English- speaking Catholics in 1882, but is served, at present, from the Cathedral.
However, its foundation stone was laid in 1880 by then Archbishop Louis Joachim Gonin.
The church’s stained glass windows coupled with its Stations of the Cross are said to be among the best in the country.
The church’s grotto, which is visible to passers-by, is dedicated to Our Lady. And, to the right hand side of the main entrance, one can find a shrine dedicated to the saints.
The official said architects may have to play a key role in determining how the rehabilitation efforts were to proceed.
“In essence, it is a battle between architects and their view about retaining structures that have created problems for management and the decision to either restore or renovate,” an official said.
