By Ken Valenti
WESTPORT–Originally, the restoration plan for Church of the Assumption called for freshening up the solid off-white paint on the interior walls. But the experts hired for the job had a hunch that there was something more underneath.
How right they were.
A crew from John Canning & Co., the architectural arts restoration contractor hired for the job, carefully removed several layers of paint and revealed ornate but faded paintings. A look at one of 12 arched sections above the pews uncovered a tribute to St. Bartholomew, one of the 12 apostles in the Christian faith.
The other 11 sections are believed to exalt the other apostles.
Boom!
“They used a chemical that peels the paint and all of a sudden – boom! – there were the original stencils,” said the church pastor, Rev. Cyrus Bartolome. “What’s interesting also is the original gold leafing and silver leafing are still there.”
Canning brings almost five decades of experience to the church project. Located in Cheshire, Connecticut, the firm was instrumental in the restoration of the ceiling of Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. The firm developed the cleaning agent that removed decades of dirt and grime without harming the iconic mural of constellations underneath, according to its website.
150th anniversary
Church of the Assumption is undertaking the $1.3 million restoration to celebrate the parish’s 150th anniversary in 2026. The Catholic parish began in 1876 as a mission of St. Mary’s Church in Norwalk.
Rev. Bartolome expects to reach their fundraising goal with an upcoming concert headlined by Grammy Award-winning singer-musician Jose Feliciano, a Church of the Assumption parishioner. The concert, on Aug. 15 at the Westport Country Playhouse, will feature two additional bands, a raffle and the auctioning of an autographed acoustic guitar from Feliciano’s collection. (Find information at www.assumptionwestport.org.)
The Rev. James Patrick Ryle, the church’s third pastor, was a driving force behind the construction of the current building, which began in 1899, said Steven Baumann, a longtime parishioner and retired teacher, who is researching the church’s history.
The current tan brick church on Riverside Avenue opened in 1900, replacing a smaller, white clapboard house of worship on the Post Road. Designed by architect Joseph A. Jackson, Baumann describes the church as a Gothic Revival structure with Romanesque elements.
Ryle died just weeks before the church was dedicated April 22, 1900. The first service in the new church was Ryle’s funeral Mass, according to the church’s website.
St. Bartholomew
Canning experts have restored the arched section honoring St. Bartholomew’s name and ornamentation along the hem of the section. It has been given a blue background with a series of fleurs-de-lis. The section was completed to give the congregation a preview of what it will look like when all 12 sections are done. Bartolome said the blue background may be lightened for a brighter look, and some of the fleur-de-lis designs may be removed.
The interior sides also will be restored to their original paintings. The columns will be painted to match the color scheme, Bartolome said.
“(Ryle) quickly started the work on the present church building,” Baumann said. “It had been in planning the year before he showed up by the previous pastor, but he spearheaded the fundraising.”
But the new interior paint job is only part of the restoration. The two steeples, one larger than the other, have been restored. A painting of the Virgin Mary ascending to heaven on the reredos – the wooden screen behind the altar – will also be restored and brightened by removing a layer of varnish that was applied sometime after the mural was completed.
Hildreth Meière
The painting was created by muralist Hildreth Meière, a renowned 20th-century muralist whose commissions ranged from St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan to the Nebraska State Capital in Lincoln to the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C., according to the website of the International Hildreth Meière Association.
In other work, the restoration will enhance the soundproofing for the church’s confessional booths to enhance privacy, Bartolome said. Priest’s bedrooms in the parish house will also be renovated, he said.
A second phase, he said, may include removing the carpet that covers the church floor.
“I would love to see what’s under the carpet,” he said.
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