St. Hedwig Renovation

Although St. Hedwig was established as a parish in 1914, the present St. Hedwig church structure was built in 1919, exactly one hundred years ago! In 1989 there was a major renovation and expansion which significantly increased the capacity of the church. In the summer and fall of 2018 we embarked on a renovation and refresh of the sanctuary which accomplished a number of goals including:

Relocating the historic altar and tabernacle to the center of the sanctuary as focal point for worship with the building of a new ‘rerdos’ over the altar

  • Highlighting the sacredness of the sanctuary through tile and granite accent

  • Re-positioning of organ, cantor and music area to a more practical position

  • Building of a dedicated and accessible confessional for Reconciliation

  • Painting all surfaces in the church and cleaning up sacristy

  • Increasing seating and visibility in the main body of the church

  • Improving the consistency of lighting

  • Installation of a new sound system for more thorough coverage and quality

  • Attention to HVAC and other areas of deferred maintenance

This project with its unexpected setback due to water intrusion and mitigation concluded just in time for Christmas! It has been very positively received and many comments about its simple elegance and the beauty of the renovation have been shared. It has been well described as bringing the earlier renovation to completion, especially through encouraging a stronger sense of the sacred.

A committed group of parishioners and staff members assisted to bring this dream to reality. Their dedication is to be commended! We worked with numerous vendors and craftsmen to assure quality and value on the scope of the project. The funding of the project was accomplished through a generous lead gift and savings from the St. Hedwig Corp and Holy Cross. We have not made any broad appeals for contributions up to this point. We now turn to you, our parishioners from St. Hedwig and from the other Holy Cross campuses to help bring this project to completion with some finishing touches.

Please see below for restricted gifts already received, projects underway as well as memorial opportunities to honor Fr. Don Schwalm, Fr. Ted Guminga and other memorial opportunities for your loved ones. The projects listed below will only move forward as gifts are received. Thank you for your consideration and your generosity of spirit to give as you feel led to build upon our strong history as a parish.

See the display boards at St. Hedwig detailing these finishing touches and memorials. You will find envelopes available at the entrances of the churches. Checks can be made out to the Church of the Holy Cross and dropped in the collection basket or returned in person or by mail to the parish office. Please indicate St. Hedwig Renovation on the memo line and be sure to indicate which memorial you would like to contribute to or if you contribution is a general contribution to renovation project. Note that 100% of these contributions will go to improvements at the St. Hedwig campus.

St. Hedwig Altar of Sacrifice concept.

St. Hedwig Ambo concept.

St. Hedwig Kneeler concept.

Gifts already received
and projects underway:

(available as memorials)

  • Dimmers for lights for more variable light settings (designated gift)

  • Remounting of the Stations of the Cross with accents in time for Lent (available)

  • Double kneeler incorporating part of historic communion rail (designated gift) 

  • Processional cross (designated gift already received - $1,400) 

  • Repainted crucifix for sacristy (designated gift already received - $375) 

  • ADA railing for ramp for wheelchair access to the music area and sanctuary (available)

  • Our Lady of Czestochowa icon for sacristy (received)

FR. DON SCHWALM MEMORIAL (1927-2018), AT ST. HEDWIG UNTIL PASSING ON 14 FEB 2018: 

($7,500 already pledged from a single organization)

  • Framed Divine Mercy image near confessional – approx. 24’’ x 36’’ (up to $2,500-3,000 for original painting)

  • Newly commissioned wooden forward altar to match color and accents of historic altar ($8,000-10,000)

FR. TED GUMINGA MEMORIAL (1933-2003), AT ST. HEDWIG FROM 1973-2003:

  • 5 ft. statue of St. Hedwig, our patroness ($2,400-6,000, with pedestal & shipping)

  • Newly commissioned wooden ambo (or pulpit), with current ambo used as cantor stand ($6,700-7,000)

Additional Options:

(All available as memorials for your loved ones.)

  • Custom fitting altar cloths for new and historic altar (various, down to $150) 

  • Oriental style rug for behind the altar

  • Cabinet for better sacristy storage and organization ($750)

  • Statue of Pieta (Mary holding body of Jesus) or painting of the Death of St. Joseph for devotional area in vestibule

  • 5 ft. statue of St. Joseph ($2,400-6,000, with pedestal & shipping)

  • Additional votive candle racks for devotional area

  • Baptismal Font (range, depending on design and needed restoration)

  • Possible additional speaker(s) in confessional and/or sacristy

  • Re-plating of tabernacle and candle sticks for altar

Our Lady of Czestochowa icon

Framed Divine Mercy image near confessional concept

Statue of St. Hedwig, our patroness