By Gary Rinne
A main roof should be completed next month, but fundraising will need to continue
Thunder Bay’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral is one of the most visible structures from the air right now.
As a crew continues to work on replacing the roof of the city’s most prominent church, it’s temporarily an impossible-to-miss bright blue.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral will receive a metal roof by the end of summer, but protecting the structure from the elements will cost parishioners $1.7 million.
It is expected that the contractors working on the project will finish the job by the end of next month, according to a St. Patrick’s spokesperson.
In recent years, the cathedral’s original roof, which dates back to 1963, has required periodic repairs due to wind blowing sections of rubber sheeting off, exposing concrete below and allowing plywood to rot.
According to Deacon Derek West, the church needs the support of local businesses, organizations, and individuals as they have to pay off loans for this project as well as $700,000 worth of other work.
This building is one of Thunder Bay’s landmarks, and I do not think we are wrong in using the word iconic. It has a lot of history behind it. That window at the end – the knave – is the second largest of its kind in North America. That’s something we’re really proud of, and rightfully so. Yeah, we want this building to last.”
Members of the church who are responsible for the project joke among themselves that “there are a lot of grey hairs on the committee,” so the roof’s durability is guaranteed for life.
The next stage of improvements will begin after the roof is installed.
The side chapels on either side need to be replaced as well, West said. “They leak, so they need to be replaced. As a third phase, we may or may not work on the rectory roof. The decision to do so is still up for grabs, but we’ll certainly finish the side chapels next year.”
The community has raised about a third of the money needed for the main roof, but the appeal for donations will continue.
In the coming months, the church will look into other fundraising initiatives, including a 50/50 raffle.
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