ROSWELL—Under a cloudy sky, the new steeple was hoisted by cranes into place. Father Dan Fleming and Father Fausto Marquez squeezed in a lift bucket decorated with balloons as a crane hoisted them for a bird’s-eye view of the Chattahoochee River and blessed the spire and its four-foot cross.

From the heights Aug. 19, Father Fleming said he prayed for the project and the many people whose efforts brought it to fruition.

Setting the steeple, which stretches some 74 feet into the sky, was the capstone to the $2.1 million renovation of St. Andrew Church in Roswell.

Days later, the congregation filled the renovated church for Mass with Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory. The gathering on Thursday, Aug. 27, celebrated an upgrade that has replaced and expanded a worn interior with fresh paint and carpeting, new pews and greater access for those with disabilities.

Accompanied by parochial vicar Father Fausto Marquez, Father Dan Fleming, pastor of St. Andrew Church, sprinkles the four-foot cross atop the cupula with holy water on Aug. 19. Photo By Michael Alexander

Refurbishing parishes is catching on. Churches constructed during the first wave of Catholic growth in the 1980s are getting a facelift as a new wave of Catholics makes metro Atlanta their home. At St. Andrew Church, parishioners in the pews include more Spanish-speakers, along with African and Asian immigrants.

St. Andrew Church began in 1981 when the Catholics who established the parish community gathered for Mass in a business park in Sandy Springs. Fourteen acres on the northern bank of the Chattahoochee River were purchased as its future home. On April 30, 1987, the first church was dedicated.

The parish once had some 4,000 registered families, but now it has about half that. Other parishes have since opened in north Fulton County, drawing families to new parishes, including some with parochial schools.

There has also been a cultural change. The parish is now nearly half composed of Hispanic Catholics. Ten years ago, there was no parish Mass celebrated in Spanish. There are two each weekend now.

In her 20 years at the parish, Lisa Regan has witnessed the growth of its international character as the parish works to build bridges between longtime members and newcomers.

“We have representatives from all parts of the globe,” said Regan, who works in the marketing industry. “It’s the coolest thing. We have a ways to go, but it’s a beautiful thing.”

The Regan family felt rooted here, even as other families left, she said. “St. Andrew quickly became my home.”

Father Fleming, the pastor of St. Andrew since 2013, said the parish is striving to be an “intercultural” parish, where different cultures come together in living the Catholic faith, instead of each operating on its own while occupying the same building.

“We don’t just share the space,” said Father Fleming. “We strive toward becoming a strong community of different languages and cultures,” he said.

Nearly 40 percent of the parish identifies as being native Spanish speakers and there are natives from at least three countries in Africa and Asia, he said.

Faithful parishioners support renovation

To renovate the church, nine months of construction followed four years of planning. During construction, the parish center became the spiritual heart of the parish with room for 500 people to gather.

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory was the main celebrant and homilist for an Aug. 27 Mass marking the renovation of St. Andrew Church’s 28-year-old structure in Roswell. Joining him on the altar (background, l-r) are Deacon Thomas Gotschall, parochial vicar Father Fausto Marquez, pastor Father Dan Fleming and Deacon José Campos. Photo By Michael Alexander

Demolition started last November. A 1,000-square-foot expansion of the gathering space allowed church leaders to install the steeple, which had not been a part of the church before. The architectural feature is now a landmark in the community. Workers changed the sanctuary, adding a ramp so people with limited mobility can approach the altar. The interior of the church was refreshed with new paint, fresh carpeting and new pews that seat 600 people. The community returned to worship in the building in early August.

The project had a price tag of about $2.1 million and the church surpassed that in pledges and contributions, said Father Fleming.

The rededication ceremony was celebrated in Spanish and English.

Archbishop Gregory blessed the baptismal water, the steeple and the doors.

“St. Andrew parish dedicates a renovated liturgical space as a sign of the love and generosity of the vibrant community,” he said.

“Surely God will be praised and is glorified in this splendid restored edifice, but the building must also become a sacramental reminder that you are the church, the structure that is most precious to the Lord,” he said. “The people of God are themselves an edifice of irreplaceable worth to the heart of God himself.”

Heaton Erecting, Inc. crane operator Robbie Siniard lifts the cupula in place over the steeple at St. Andrew Church, Roswell, during the afternoon of Aug. 19. Photo By Michael Alexander

The archbishop told the audience their new church should serve as a “living reminder of the faith of this community and a beacon for you to recall your dignity as God’s people.”

Two longtime parishioners hope the renovated church will draw in new members.

“We hope it’ll bring back some of the parishioners that have bled off. Hopefully, it’ll grow the membership overall,” said Mike Bagnulo, a parishioner for 20 years and a fourth-degree Knight of Columbus.

He thinks the size of the parish may appeal to those who feel lost in larger faith communities. “At St. Andrew, people feel they are part of the community,” he said.

Seeing the completed renovation rewarded the financial sacrifice.

“I think it was 100 percent better than it was before. The renovation has gone very, very well,” said Bagnulo, 70, a financial planner.

“They opened it up. There was light coming into (the church),” said Renay Miller, an event planner and parish council leader.

The exterior and interior changes in the building suit its architectural style and its riverfront location, she said. With the popularity of the Roswell Riverwalk Trail and boating on the Chattahoochee River, parishioners hope visitors will be drawn to explore the church and stay, she said.

She made a deep bond with other people in the parish when she took part in the Christ Renews His Parish program a decade ago.

That initiative to strengthen people’s faith knitted the parish together, she said.

“That bonded a lot of the parish. Over the 10 years, we all hug each other.”