Parish
members, businesses and friends create new chapel
By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — St. Martin of Tours Parish is both reverent and resourceful.
A new daily Mass chapel behind the main altar in the upper church has
been fashioned and furnished mainly out of materials that came from
the church, and by the elbow-grease of parishioners, members of the area
business community and other friends.
The shelf holding the tabernacle, for instance, was cut from marble left
over from the church’s elevator. And it was cut for free by the
Liberty Granite company.
In fact, the chapel’s only new articles are the tabernacle, donated
by Leonard Schoener, one of the parish’s maintenance workers, and
the lighting fixture, purchased at cost through Jim Durkin, a lighting
supplies distributor in Philadelphia.
Father John J. Kelly, St. Martin’s pastor, blessed the new chapel
during the 8:30 a.m. liturgy on Saturday, Jan. 5, at the church at Roosevelt
Boulevard and Cheltenham Avenue in the Oxford Circle section of the city.
The new chapel “appropriately complements the majesty of St. Martin’s
Church,” Father Kelly said. “I appreciate the fact that it’s
an effort toward going green. It’s a step forward toward energy
efficiency and economy.”
The chapel, which has a seating capacity of 70, is the church’s
former choir room and is accessible through a door off the prayer garden,
which opens to a flight of stairs. It is also handicapped-accessible through
the church’s elevator and a new ramp that was installed over three
interior steps.
The room’s original, stained-glass windows and terrazzo floors remain,
and a bronze plaque of our Lady with her Infant Son was brought out of
storage and refurbished with a new coat of lacquer.
Many parishioners and members of the business community contributed their
efforts and expertise to the project by providing decorating ideas and
construction management, and by refinishing the interior walls, painting,
installing the handicapped-accessible ramp, providing maintenance work,
and more.
Charles Calvanese of B.S.I. Construction offered his expertise as project
manager. Anita White, an architect, also provided expertise for the project.
The interior walls were refinished through the work donated by members
in the Plasterers Union, under the direction of James Kilkenny, an alumnus
of the school.
A parishioner, Thaddeus McGovern of Carpenters Local 122, his son, T.J.
and nephew, John Paul, installed the handicapped-accessible ramp.
An independent air-conditioning system was donated by Bob Sauter of the
Elliott-Lewis company. It was installed by Carr & Duff Electrical,
and its duct work was completed by members of the Sheet Metal Workers
Union.
Steve Gambacorta, a parishioner and professional painter, donated his
painting services.
In-house tasks were completed by the parish’s maintenance workers,
Schoener and Richard P. Kirk Jr.
“To be part of this transformation from when we started to what
it is today has been a rewarding experience,” Kirk said.
Schoener agreed that the new chapel was worth the hard work. “After
it was completed, I was proud to have played a part in making it happen.”
For more information about St. Martin of Tours Parish, access the Web
site: www.smtparish.org.
CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at (215)
587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.