Gesu church will look and sound just a bit better this Easter season.
The Church of Gesu is getting ready with a new look for the upcoming Easter season with the recent restoration of the Rose Window and a new pipe organ.
Gesu, a large part of the campus community, embarked on a two-year journey called “The Loft Project,” according to executive director of operations, John O’Brien.
“The Loft Project,” which consists of the restoration of the Rose Window, the organ loft space, the new organ and an upgraded sound system, began in fall 2009 when they removed the old organ from the church, O’Brien said.
The window was in much need of repair, he said. “It was showing its age.”
The renovations are expected to cost the church approximately $2.45 million, O’Brien said.
Conrad Schmitt Studios, a company that does restoration and conservation services for stain glass and other things, helped with the restoration of the window.
“The eye was towards not only restoring the window, but its on going maintenance,” O’Brien said. “If pieces were broken, they replaced them and if they were cracked they fixed them.”
He said they also added support beams to prevent any rattling and breaking of the glass.
The Rose Window, which measures 28 feet in diameter and sits in the Gothic arch, was completely restored and put back in October 2010, he said.
The next task was cleaning up the choir gallery and resetting the organ.
“We and the Schantz Organ Company wanted a complete artistic expression,” he said.
The church wanted to take into consideration the budget, the space they had and the balance between music and artistry.
The construction of the new organ began in January 2011 and is expected to be finished by April 2011, he said.
“We wanted to go from no organ to the best pipe organ,” O’Brien said.
The organ will consist of 115 ranks, 90 stops and 6,804 pipes, he said. There will be six divisions of the pipes, five divisions in the gallery and one in the front of the church, for the echo.
“We want people enveloped in the music,” he said.
The church was able to begin working on the organ because of generous donations from anonymous benefactors who wanted to see the project completed, O’Brien said.
Dan Domrois, director of music ministry for Gesu, said that the remodeling has been a blessing.
“It is recognition by the parish that music is a part of worship,” he said.
Domrois said it was a positive thing for students involved in both the Marquette and Gesu choirs because it is a fresh space and a new instrument.
The construction has interfered with mass to a point. Gesu had to have mass in the lower church for two weekends, according to both O’Brien and Domrois.
O’Brien said there was a little bit of an adverse impact at first, but people have seemed to overcome that.
“Once the Rose Window came back in, everything started to seem real and people were more enthusiastic,” he said.
Kristin Janowski, a senior in the College of Business Administration, said in an e-mail that the construction has been disruptive.
“I think it takes away from the church and why we’re there,” she said. “It turns the church into a construction zone, instead of a place to reflect.”
“Even though there’s no work going on during the times I’ve been there, it does affect the atmosphere of the church, simply by having the construction equipment there,” Janowski continued.
She feels everyone at Marquette is proud of Gesu and its beautiful architecture and design, so any improvements can only make it more stunning.
The organ is set to be finished April 15, O’Brien said.
“Our experiences will be taken to a whole other level Easter Sunday,” he said.