St. Francis de Sales Church Restoration

Father Kevin Cusick is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Kevin Cusick.

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Praised be Jesus and Mary!

St. Francis de Sales Parish in Benedict, Maryland has offered the traditional Latin Mass since 1989 under Ecclesia Dei. We have grown into a de facto “personal” parish with traditional Mass offered every day following Summorum Pontificum in 2007.

We are undertaking a large project to restore our church. Our 100-year-old plaster and lathe ceiling was cracking and deteriorating as the keys and lugs through large sections had broken over time. The ceiling was in danger of falling.

We are restoring the ceiling to preserve it and also repairing and painting deteriorated plaster throughout the church interior.

The professional plaster restoration work will cost $243,000 and we have raised about 10% of the total cost so far. Additionally, we will restore the original pine flooring which was replaced with wall to wall carpeting after a fire, and install period-appropriate lighting.

Please consider supporting our parish, one of only two in the Archdiocese of Washington which offer traditional Mass daily and sacraments in the traditional Latin rite.

Thank you for your kind consideration and for the generosity of your prayers for the successful completion of the project. We hope to be back in the church for holy Mass to honor Our Lady of Fatima on October 13th. Please join us in praying through the intercession of our patron, Saint Francis de Sales.

Wood straps are fastened to the underside of the plaster and lathing to prepare for applying the compound which will recapture and reattach the plaster to the lathing.

The strapping is removed and holes filled after the compound is applied over the lathing and ceiling plaster in three treatments and then cured.

The next step begins soon to repair interior plaster damaged by earthquake and water penetration resulting from a hurricane-nor’easter combination. The entire interior will be restored to pristine condition and painted.