Newly renovated church in Monroe City reflects, anticipates a reinvigorated assembly
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The People of God never looked better from the sanctuary of Holy Rosary Church in Monroe City.
An 18-month renovation has transformed the 1968-vintage church into a timeless gateway into the supernatural mysteries that comprise the Catholic faith.
“The space feels brighter, more peaceful and more focused on worship,” said Deacon John Watkins, who assists the pastor of Holy Rosary Parish and neighboring St. Stephen Parish in Indian Creek. “It’s amazing how the beauty of the church lifts you up and helps you feel closer to God. You can really sense how meaningful and sacred the space is.”
Archbishop Shawn McKnight, who led this diocese from 2018 until becoming archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas last month, rededicated the nearly completed church on May 18 — 56 years to the day after Bishop Joseph M. Marling, founding bishop of Jefferson City, performed the same rites there. “This rededication represents not just a renewal of our sacred space but a renewed vision of the hope and promise that lies ahead,” Deacon Watkins stated. “It marks a powerful new chapter in the life of our parish.”
All at once, the people witnessed the election of a new pope, awaited the appointment of a new bishop and returned to worship in their newly resplendent church.
“Together, these events symbolize a kind of rebirth — breathing new life into an already strong and faithful community,” said Deacon Watkins.
Archbishop McKnight commended the people of Holy Rosary Parish on a job well done.
“I’m very grateful for what you have accomplished,” he said at the Rededication Mass. “You all did a marvelous job of making this church VERY beautiful, very Catholic in its appearance, and I hope it will be a very prayerful place for you all.”
Joining him at the altar were Father Greg Oligschlaeger, pastor of the Monroe City and Indian Creek parishes; Monsignor Marion Makarewicz; Father Donald Antweiler, former pastor; and Father Michael
Quinn, a native son of the parish.
It was the day Pope Leo XIV celebrated his Inaugural Mass.
The archbishop was quick to point out that the Church is actually the People of God, living stones who are formed into the temple where God is present to his people.
“The assembly that gathers in this sacred place is the Church,” the archbishop stated. “But, since we are human beings, who are both physical and spiritual, and not simply spiritual creatures like the angels, we need consecrated places, concrete structures that are places of encounter with the Transcendent One.
“And so, in this church, dedicated to the same God of the Chosen People of the Old Testament, and in honor of Our Lady, Queen of the Holy Rosary, we have our own sacred space for this community of Monroe City,” the archbishop stated.
“It is a shrine that raises up our souls, minds and even our bodies, through the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and texture, to heaven.” Fr. Oligschlaeger observed how the Rite for Anointing of an Altar points to the distinction and necessary connection between the Church as the People of God and the church building as a sacred place where they gather for worship.
“It is our vehicle for encountering and experiencing the divine, and then we go out and share it with the people we meet — the love of God and the peace of the Lord and all of those things,” the pastor noted.
Accordingly, throughout the process of planning and carrying out the renovation — including the 18 months the people of Holy Rosary accepted the hospitality of St. Stephen Parish for weekend Masses — Fr. Oligschlaeger has recognized “a definite sense of renewal and rejuvenation within the People of God.”
The parish’s Renovation Committee worked with church architect William Heyer, who had served as architectural consultant on the renovation of the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City, to meld timeless beauty and unmistakable Catholicity with the best of Holy Rosary Church’s Space-Age geometry.
“God is in charge of all beauty,” said Brenda Benson, a Holy Rosary parishioner and artist who designed the mural above the altar and the medallions that will be installed in the floor to represent the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary.
“Look around at the world,” she said. “That’s where we get our aesthetic of beauty. And beauty inspires worship. You can’t see beautiful things and not feel some sense of the holy.”
She recalled that parishioners had seriously discussed freshening up the church nearly 20 years ago, but the urgency of building a new Holy Rosary School to replace a century-old building that was no longer serviceable took precedence.
The new school was completed in 2017.
“I think maybe the building of the school inspired people and reminded them that our parish is lively, that we’re involved,” said Mrs. Benson.
“We needed not to stop there. We needed to go ahead and make our church into something that really reflects who we are as a parish.”
Diamond in the rough
The late Father William Ludwig, became pastor of Holy Rosary following the decades-long tenure of Monsignor Edward Connelly, came up with the overall design for the church in 1967.
“It will be of white brick and cut stone and will be diamond-shaped, seat 550, and cover approximately 13,000 square feet,” The Catholic Missourian reported that year. “Low near the altar of sacrifice, the roof will soar upward to a high point at the church’s front.”
“It’s interesting geometry to work with, that’s for sure,” said parishioner Dennis Long, chairman of the Renovation Committee. “We kept the basic shape. You still feel like you’re wrapped around the altar.”
Having received the Sacraments in Holy Rosary Church and grown up worshiping there with his family, Mr. Long created an ethic of consultation and cooperation.
“We decided to have a very open dialogue from the very beginning so people could feel free to say whatever they thought they needed to say and know that they would be heard,” he said.
Parishioners were clear that the basic needs of the church building needed to be addressed before any work on the interior.
The first phase of the renovation included a comprehensive engineering study of the structure, followed by a new roof and tuckpointing of the exterior.
“We had the steeple on the east side totally repainted,” said Mr. Long. “We wanted the cross to be painted gold. That was done before we did anything inside.”
The committee worked with Mr. Heyer to develop a concept for interior renovation, followed by renderings that would form the basis for generating enthusiasm and raising the needed funds.
“We really wanted, as much as possible, for everything to have meaning,” said Mrs. Benson. “Each decision was made with the mind of the story it would tell and the relation it would have to our faith.”
“Our goal was to basically to have a more beautiful place to worship that would feel more spiritual inside,” said Mr. Long. “Particularly the sanctuary area.”
Greater emphasis would be given to the altar and the tabernacle. New statues and stained glass would be created. The altar would be rebuilt. A baptistry would be set apart. New pews would be installed. The baptismal font and Stations of the Cross from the previous, 1889-vintage church would be refurbished.
The floors and walls would be adorned with more durable materials.
A key consideration was to make the church more appealing to young people, specifically young families.
“The change in worship space and the greater emphasis on Catholic identity will help people want to come and practice their faith again and become an active part of our parish,” said Fr. Oligschlaeger.
“One thing everyone agreed on was that it needs to feel very Catholic the minute they come in,” said Mr. Long. “We wanted them to see the tabernacle right away.”
Parishioners stepped up with their pledges and rolled up their sleeves, carrying out such tasks as building a new cross for the sanctuary crucifix, refinishing the altar in the Adoration Chapel, repairing and refinishing the pews that were moved up to the loft, and building new wooden signs to display the hymns for Mass.
A local family donated an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, fashioned of pressed tin in the nation of Mexico.
Another family is donating a new painting of Venerable Father Augustus Tolton, candidate for sainthood, who went from being a slave in Monroe County to becoming the Roman Catholic Church’s first recognizably Black priest in the United States.
The image, being created by Florida artist Patrice Schelkun, will depict Fr. Tolton standing near the pond outside St. Peter Church in Brush Creek, where he was baptized, with a broken shackle on his blessing hand, holding a rosary.
Beauty and meaning
Fr. Oligschlaeger provided steady guidance to the Renovation Committee: specifically that greater emphasis should be given to the altar, and that the Rosary should be incorporated into the architecture of Holy Rosary Church.
Mrs. Benson played a role in both.
Mr. Heyer incorporated an octagonal oculus into the ceiling above the altar to give the impression of a baldachino — a canopy that stands over the altar in older churches, including St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
The original hope was to build a skylight to flood the sanctuary with sunlight. But the main beam holding up the roof runs right through the center of the sanctuary.
Mrs. Benson, working in consultation with Catholic artist Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs in St. Louis, created an oil painting on canvas, depicting the Holy Spirit as a dove, coming down from the clouds, amidst branches of the Tree of Life from Genesis and Revelation.
The Monroe City artist also designed medallions representing the four sets of Mysteries of the Rosary to be set into the floor in the main and front aisles of the church.
New stained-glass windows, which are scheduled to be installed in July, will be filled with Catholic symbols and tradition.
The window in the balcony will depict Mary saying yes to being the mother of the Savior.
The windows in the baptistry will depict the words from the Rite of Baptism: “I baptize you in name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The sanctuary windows will depict the other six Sacraments.
The tall windows in the back will depict the “I am” themes spoken by Jesus in John’s Gospel, including: “I am the Good Shepherd,” “I am the vine and the branches,” and “I am the way, the truth and the life,” as well as “I Am Who Am,” spoken to Moses in the Old Testament.
Before re-consecrating the altar, Archbishop McKnight placed under the 1,900-pound mensa the relics of three saints: St. Thomas Aquinas, who was a Dominican priest, in recognition of the 124 years of continuous presence of Dominican Sisters from Sparkill, N.Y., in the parish; St. Gertrude the Great, renowned devotee to the Sacred Heart of Jesus patroness of the souls in purgatory; and St. Dymphna, an Irish martyr revered by young people in the Church.
The hope is for a relic of Fr. Tolton to be added at whatever time he may be declared a saint.
Looking ahead
Mr. Long said he can see the excitement people feel when they step into Holy Rosary Church as it nears completion.
“It’s been talked about in the community quite a bit,” he said. “I think it will help bring about greater renewal in the parish.”
Fr. Oligschlaeger hopes that even after another 56 years have passed, Holy Rosary Church will retain its timeless sense of wonder.
“I hope people will still have a sense of having a glimpse of where heaven meets earth and a place to worship and pray and that helps them to maintain that community spirit that the church was designed for us to have while worshiping together,” he said.
“I want them to have an uplifting feeling of light and harmony and beauty and history and the stories and traditions of the Church,” stated Mrs. Benson.
Mr. Long said he’d love to see the parish outgrow the church as it currently stands.
“That should always be your goal,” he asserted. “Right now, we have two Masses on the weekend. I pray that we fill this church up so much that we need to think about a third one. And not just new people but also Catholics returning to their faith. There are plenty of people who could benefit from that.”
