Parishioners of St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Clifton have “done something beautiful for God and the community,” said Father David Monteleone, pastor, about the refurbished pews and kneelers in the parish church.
“Everything in God’s home should look appropriate and have dignity. I wanted the interior to match the people’s great love for the parish,” Father Monteleone said.
A capital campaign enabled the parish to undertake the pew renovations and other improvements.
St. Philip’s will share the beauty of its church with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney when he celebrates the noon Mass on the Feast of Christ the King, Nov. 24, with a luncheon to follow. It will be the “crowning” of its capital campaign, said Father Monteleone, who is grateful that parishioners supported “this enormous undertaking.”
Deacon Nick Veliky, who serves St. Philip’s and has been a lifelong parishioner, said the pews were in “dire need of repair, and the kneelers were collapsing.” Renovations had not been done for decades.
The renovations connect the generations of people who have worshipped at St. Philip’s past and present, said Deacon Veliky. He added that the renovations “maintained the past but improved on it.”
“One of my St. Philip’s grammar school classmates commented that these were the same pews that we sat in for our grammar school graduation, where we met friends and gathered with family,” said Deacon Veliky, who recently baptized one of his grandsons at St. Philip’s.
Debbie DeLuca and her husband have been active parishioners of St. Philip’s for 52 years and have seen many baptisms, First Communions, confirmations, and weddings.
“We now have beautiful, restored, like-new pews that will serve our parishioners in worship for the next 50 years,” DeLuca said.
In other renovations, the carpet in the sanctuary was replaced with a soft, muted gold carpet that allows the white Carrera marble altar to stand out. The Blessed Sacrament’s Altar of Repose was rebuilt, bringing it more to scale and matching the Altar of Sacrifice.
Also, the baptismal font was relocated close to the church entrance to be more symbolic “since that is the first sacrament we receive,” Father Monteleone said. The parish also renovated a bathroom and made it handicap accessible.
St. Philip’s goal was $250,000, and to date, it has received $382,000 in pledges. Father Monteleone said the generosity of the gifts is practical and spiritual.
“God’s house should be a place of prayer, but also a place of beauty to lift up our soul to the heavens and our Savior,” Father Monteleone said.
