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Campaign Progress$284,499 of $735,000 Funded 38% of Goal
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Please Consider Donating for Sanctuary RepairsIncluding HVAC Replacement, Cupola Repairs and Roof Replacement
Please read the following letter from Fr. Pat and kindly consider donating. Our goal is to raise $735,000 to fund necessary sanctuary repairs. Thank you for you for your prayerful consideration to give financial support to the final repairs of our beloved sanctuary.My Dear Parishioners:
I am asking for your help on behalf of the community of St. Catherine.
It has been twenty-two years since I came to St. Catherine as an Associate Priest and seventeen years since I became your Pastor. Serving you has been the pinnacle of my priestly career. I am proud to serve a parish whose vibrancy and spirit is the model for the rest of the Diocese. I sincerely appreciate each of you who give of your time, talent and treasure. We are truly blessed.
Yet even as St. Catherine flourishes, we face new challenges. It has been over six years since we built our new beloved Parish Center. It has greatly served our Parish ministries. But once again we face another hurdle that must be conquered. About three years ago, we launched the Renew in Your Spirit capital campaign. This campaign was initiated by the Diocese to serve Diocesan needs. We expected to share in the proceeds of this campaign on a fifty-fifty basis. We raised over $3 million with this campaign. Our proceeds from this campaign are expected to be at least $1.5 million.
To date, we have expended approximately $450,000 to refurbish the sacristy corridor, including new bathrooms and flooring. We have expended about $150,000 on the refurbishment of our pews and $80,000 on all the new front doors and glass. These amounts total $680,000, which leaves about $820,000 to be paid out from the campaign.
Our next project is to replace the existing HVAC system entirely. Part of this change will entail building a platform over the current mechanical room for the new air handlers. The original architect for the building never took into consideration the fact that the system would someday need to be replaced, so he did not include entries large enough to remove and install equipment. So our engineers have recommended that we move the new equipment to the roof top.
We also intend to change the design for the distribution of air within the sanctuary. Unfortunately, the original design for the Church was severely lacking. It left at least 50 percent of the space without adequate air circulation and cooling. It is not uncommon to see parishioners in the pews fanning themselves. Those of us on the altar suffer even more greatly, as there is absolutely no air or cooling on the altar. The heat of the altar is exasperated by the Cupola. The Cupola was not built with any insulating glass, so the sun beats down brutally on everyone below it.
I believe I estimated that all of this intended work would cost about $500,000. My estimate was quite off. We expect this work to cost approximately $1.2 million. This means that the amount remaining to be paid out in the existing campaign will prove insufficient for this work.
Another component of our final project is the repair of the Cupola. The Cupola was built without any insulation on the metal framing. So when the temperatures reach the 30s or below, the Cupola will sweat and sometimes drip to the floor. Also, if you look up at the Cupola you will see quite a bit of water damage to the glulam on its underside. This area will also need to be repaired. We have contracted with a company with this level of expertise and they have estimated that the cost of repair will be $135,000. This repair will include a new insulating cover on the exterior metal and replacement of all the glass with low e-glass that will block UV and heat exposure.
Finally, we desperately need to replace the flat roof, which leaks in quite a few places. We estimate the cost of a new roof will be $200,000.
So, the total for all this remaining work is about $1,535,000 of which only $800,000 will be covered by the remaining campaign. This leaves a negative of about $735,000. Also, we would like to undertake this project early next year while the campaign is still in a payout mode. Since the bills need to be paid in real time, we will need all of that money in hand when we begin.
I am asking everyone to look into your hearts and consider making a substantial contribution to this effort. Monies contributed for this purpose should be clearly identified as we intend to segregate these funds for this project only. I ask that you all give prayerful consideration to the idea of giving financial support to the final repairs of our beloved sanctuary.With Love,Fr. Pat*AN UPDATE FROM FR. PAT COAKLEY - NOVEMBER 4, 2025*My Dearly Beloved Parishioners,I want to take this opportunity to update you on a few things. Just to revisit it, previously we ran a Capital Campaign to raise funds for the refurbishment of the Church. In the months that followed, we renovated the bathrooms of the Church. Then for several months, we renovated the seating in the Church. Now we have come to the big one. We want to replace the air conditioning system completely. You will know that this is urgent because you have sat through some tropical masses in St. Catherine’s. Our air conditioning system is over 40 years old. It is time to replace it. The plan is to take out the machinery we have installed already and put the new air conditioner machinery on the roof of the Church. This is a big engineering job. For months we have been in conversation with engineers and architects making plans. We must apply to the city for planning. Previously we informed you that there is money left over from the Capital Campaign to help us fund this project. However, we don’t have enough. Estimates run at about $1.5 million for installing everything. We have begun a pledge campaign to raise the balance of what we need, which is about $800,000. People have assured me that they are completely on board with the thing. People can see and experience for themselves that we need new air conditioning. However, people are very slow to donate to the fund raising. I am asking you please, could you begin to donate? We cannot move forward without your support. I know you love us and you love our church. I need you to “show me the money,” now.We have also decided to delay the project by a few months. Initially we thought about beginning our restoration immediately after Christmas, in January 2026. We have now decided that it would be best to begin post-Easter 2026. The planning application is going to take time. People are not donating money. There will be a lot of disruption to our use of the Church, so we thought it best to do the heavy work while we begin to disperse for the summer.There is something else that is very concerning to me. We are a very large parish. Estimates run between 12,000 to 15,000 parishioners. We are what they call a Mega Church. We are very proud of who we are. We have a reputation as being a warm-hearted and caring community. However, I was told recently that we ran a diaper campaign asking people to donate so we can reach out to families who struggle to keep things going. At the end of the campaign, I was informed that we received one bag of diapers as a donation. Nobody else bothered. To make it worse, we have been appealing to the parishioners to come forth and help us with our Marriage Preparation program. We have received no calls about that! Our RCIA program has been asking for people to come forth and commit to sponsoring our Catechumens and Candidates. We have only a few who made contact! What has happened to our caring community we are all so proud of? Where are you people? We can’t go forward without your help and support. We need you to step up. Why is it that the twenty-somethings and the thirty-somethings never step up? Where are you people?I appreciate that we are all busy and we all have our commitments. I don’t take your participation for granted, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t tell you about the state of things. Come on people! I love you.With love,Fr. Pat