1992 |
2004 |
Sacred Heart Church, built at Broadway and Ferry in 1886, had plain off-white interior walls for twenty-two years. In 1908 the pastor, Fr. Maurice Bric, commissioned Ferdinand Baraldi of Philadelphia to paint the church and place on the ceilings and walls seventeen large canvas paintings. Fourteen of the paintings measure more than 60 square feet.
The contract was signed on April 22, 1908, by Fr. Bric and Ferdinand Baraldi to have the whole job completed by September 16, 1908, at the cost of $2,900. For every day the job remained unfinished after September 16, a penalty of $10 would be deducted from the fee.
In 1925 during the pastorate of Fr. John McCloskey the area around the altar was painted. Marbleized plaster was installed there and marbleized material was placed on the wainscoting around the church.
In 1938 during the pastorate of Fr. Tom Hannon, the whole church was painted and decorated, though the canvas paintings were not touched. New terrazzo floors, new lighting fixtures, etc., were installed.
At some period, an attempt was made to clean the paintings, but the cleaning agent was too strong, and some of the colors were bleached.
In 1992, fifty-four years later, the church, drastically deteriorated from water damage, deep cracks, and peeling paint, was in need of extensive repair. So the present renovation of the church interior was started in the pastorate of Fr. Michael Doyle. Over the past five years Othmar Carli, an Austrian-born artist and restorer of paintings, has directed the restoration of Sacred Heart. He taught Don Harle, a local house painter, a number of important skills, and the work has proceeded. Othmar has at the moment restored seventeen large canvas paintings and Don Harle, working alone, has cleaned the walls and ceilings, fixed the cracks, and repainted almost all the surfaces of the body of the church: the walls, the window frames, and much of the ceiling. He has painted and grained the massive supporting beams as well as the wainscoting, adding a stenciled border at the top. Del Lenhart did extensive wood work in the church over the past five years. (The altar area awaits restoration.)
It
is our hope that great restoration and beautification will extend into the
Sacred Heart neighborhood, so that the people, the churches, the government,
and the business community will together restore the City of Camden.