Pittsburgh is known for many things—pierogi, pickles, ketchup, and rabid Steelers fans—but what unites this proud community is a tremendous sense of loyalty and abiding faith. Liturgical Designer Rolf Rohn, Artist Renate Rohn, and their father before them have been working with the wonderful people of the Pittsburgh Diocese and surrounding areas since 1952.
Recent years have seen numerous churches close, but its Catholic community came together to weather the storm that only made their faith stronger. One of our latest projects was helping unite the churches of St. Anne in Mt. Lebanon (one of the earliest congregations in the South Hills) and St. Winifred in Castle Shannon, who merged to form St. Paul of the Cross. The new parish now occupies St. Anne's original location. Rolf worked with the pastor, Father Michael Caridi, on a complete renewal to update the outdated interior and personalize the worship experience to make it meaningful for the 8,000-member congregation.
The project began with the cleaning and restoration of the walls and interior decoration that hadn't been touched since the 1950s. The refurbishment of the metal work, ambo, railings, bronze communion railing gates, bronze columns, and Chi Ro capitols followed.
In addition, our studio artists did a complete makeover of the Greco-Egyptian-style statuary and their carved symbols. They brought the Blessed Mother statue back to life with realistic flesh tones and brighter colors and returned her to the chapel. She is now located on a marble pedestal to stand out against the church's rich brown and gold grills and accent shields. The rest of the statues (St. Joseph; St. Anne and Child Mary; Mary, Queen of Heaven; and the new St. Paul of the Cross) are in matching hues and gold leaf.
The team also designed and installed marble steps behind the altar, upon which a custom hand-carved and gilded tabernacle now sits in full view of the sanctuary. Above and surrounding it are 30 restored gold mosaic angels that shine brightly in adoration.
Refinished to harmonize with the artwork and statuary, the expansive gold ceiling (more than 250’ long and 145’ wide), adorned with Greco-Egyptian symbols, culminates in a glorious crucifixion carving over the altar.
Finally, custom lighting and sound upgrades throughout the interior and new candles for the altar complete and complement the magnificent environment.
This proud new community now feels a sense of belonging that they didn’t prior to the church's renewal. Saint Paul of the Cross parish is poised for a bright future for generations to come. The project has wrapped, but our work providing the Three Rivers and beyond with liturgical education and inspiration has just begun.
Watch the transformation of this entire project in this stunning before-and-after video.
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