How lovely is your dwelling place

By Julie Strauss Bettinger  |  The Catholic Compass  |  March/April 2022

The story behind the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas 
More’s recent dedication includes elements that 
would inspire our secular world: rising from the 
ashes, tragedy to triumph, death to new life.

But how much more so when considering the sacred. Wednesday evening, January 19, a crowd of faithful gathered outside the church doors in Tallahassee for the ceremonial opening. There were Franciscan Sisters T.O.R. and Brotherhood of Hope religious in their habits; young men and women from the Catholic Student Union at Florida State University; families with toddlers; and retired university personnel. It was a beautiful blend of the body of Christ.

That solemn assembly time offered an opportunity for quiet reflection, including forgiveness for the act of arson that spurred the renovation, a sense of awe over the beauty that awaited inside, and relief to have construction debris finally cleared. The church was whole again.

TIME FOR TRANSFORMATION

St. Thomas More’s sanctuary had seen only two other renovations since it was built in 1967 as a Student Center “chapel.” The last renovation was in 1979 when the elevated choir loft behind the altar was enclosed and the communion railings were removed.
After Father John Cayer was named rector in 2013, he considered revitalizing the interiors. That need moved to the forefront June 5, 2019, when a man who suffers from mental illness entered the church and ignited the cathedra and presiders’ chairs. Flames spread rapidly to the sanctuary wall and carpet, but in God’s great mercy, the blaze was extinguished before reaching the high wooden ceilings. 

“When the arson fire happened, we realized that this was a moment for St. Thomas More to do something,” said Father Cayer. “But first, we had to do something spiritual, and that was to forgive.” Much prayer went into the effort, and he said as a parish, they felt ready for the next step.

In the fall of 2019, he assembled a renovation committee. A lifelong student of the arts, Father Cayer was intimately involved. “God uses your deepest loves for a greater purpose,” he said. “I’ve been very engaged in this process because I love it.”

HEART OF WORSHIP

This major renovation included a marble altar, ambo and baptismal font; gilded tabernacle, and installation of hand-carved figures combined with a series of painted renderings on the sanctuary wall. There are also new Stations of the Cross throughout the church, each of them six feet tall.

The 36-foot high backdrop behind the altar is by far the most exquisite. “The iconography holds your mind to the center spot,” Father Cayer explained, “so you're more fully engaged.” He said the horizontal axis consists of the human dimension with the three patron saints of the diocese on one side, a Franciscan missionary with an Appalachian Indian family coming to know Christ on the other, and the Holy Family at the center. The vertical axis is Christological, beginning at the base with the altar of sacrifice, the tabernacle, the child Jesus just above and the life-size Jesus on the cross. The Holy Spirit is represented as a dove overhead and, higher still, a sculpted God the Father holding an orb.

The altarpiece frame is designed in the style of Renaissance and early Baroque Spain, a classical but neutral style. Father Cayer find that it blends well with the existing church.
Granda Liturgical Arts, headquartered in Madrid, Spain, handled all the design and production. Parishioner Thomas Jordan and his son Ryan, with NewSpace.info, provided general construction services and parishioner Mark Howell provided electrical services.

CONSECRATED AND CLAIMED

Bishop William Wack presided over the co-cathedral’s dedication liturgy. Nine other priests concelebrated, including Father Cayer, Parochial Vicar Father Tim Holeda and two of St. Thomas More’s former rectors, Msgr. Slade Crawford and Msgr. Mike Tugwell.
The energy seemed to build throughout the dedication as voices united in prayer and song. The bishop added to the mood, moving rapidly through the church, and generously sprinkling the walls and congregants with holy water, then reverently anointed the new altar with chrism oil. What came to him, he shared later, were the words of Je-sus, “Behold, I make all things new.”

Pledges received by parishioners are expected to cover the $1.8 million cost of the renovation. And any additional amounts received will go toward the replacement of the pews.
Electrical engineering student Hector Akuta attended the event with his wife, Ine, and their children, Danielle and David. Hector had one thing to say about the finished design: “Shred the calculators.” It’s beyond price.