RENOVATION WORK TO BEGIN — Officials with the Catholic Diocese of Steubenville have confirmed interior renovation work will begin this winter at Holy Name Cathedral in Steubenville. Diocesan spokesman Dino Orsatti said Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton hopes to celebrate the diocese’s 75th anniversary in 2020 in the Cathedral. -- Dave Gossett

STEUBENVILLE — A Cadiz contractor is expected to start interior work on the Holy Name Cathedral renovation project in the next several months.

Dino Orsatti, communications director for the Diocese of Steubenville, confirmed Friday the first of several steps in the process to remodel the cathedral will start this winter with the removal of several items from the church that has been closed since June 2014.

“Crews will be removing items for storage or renovation while construction takes place in the cathedral. We plan to have the utilities in the church upgraded for the future sound system and lighting. The work will be focused on the interior of the church during the winter months. Once the construction season starts next year, work will move to replacing the existing flat roof with a pitched roof,” Orsatti told the Herald-Star.

“The diocese has already spent $1 million on infrastructure outside of the cathedral to move and replace utilities and to change the street in front of the church to include a cul-de-sac,” noted Orsatti.

“The formal campaign for the renewal, restoration and renovation of the cathedral will be ongoing as we initiate fundraising efforts and apply for grants. Because our Catholic population in the diocese has decreased, grants will be available to the diocese from the Catholic Home Missions,” explained Orsatti.

“We will be seeking an additional $9 million for the remaining renovation work that will include a bell tower. Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton has indicated he wants to be able to have a Mass in Holy Name Cathedral by 2020 for the diocesan’s 75th anniversary. We will continue to take steps on the renovation project as the Lord provides,” stated Orsatti.

Yarman Contracting of Cadiz applied for and received a permit from the city’s building department a week ago for the $9.7 million project.

According to the permit application, 10,400 square feet will be renovated.

The building permit, which cost the diocese $35,007, is good for six months. It would have to be renewed if the work is to continue past that point.

The original renovation project was expected to take 18 months to complete when it was announced in 2014.

Monforton was named as bishop of the diocese in June 2012 and immediately faced questions regarding the future of the cathedral.

“My question was how can the cathedral bring hope to the region. It was like Bishop (John King) Mussio was whispering in my ear to keep the cathedral in Steubenville,” Monforton said during a June 2013 interview.

“The parishes that once existed in our diocese but have been closed over the years will be represented in the baptistry. Even though those churches may be closed, their names will be kept in a living testimony to the diocese,” said Monforton.

“We also will do a lot of work outside. We will be increasing the lighting in the parking lot. And, we will reach out to our neighbors to make our neighborhood safer. We will renew and restore our cathedral. I have instructed our design engineers to prepare a plan in which Holy Name Cathedral will have state-of-the-art technology that will permit everyone in the diocese to view the re-direction Mass by way of television or the Internet. The technology means we also will be able to broadcast Masses periodically from our mother church. I hope this electronic bridge will draw the people of our diocese closer together,” Monforton said.

“I see a beautiful structure that is worn with age. But, maybe, this can be the springboard and create changes in the south end of the city. I have had conversations with a lot of people. This will happen. This is not a dream. This is real life. I hope to change the city’s South End one building at a time and possibly work together with the library and the orthodox church,” Monforton said in the interview.

Holy Name Catholic Church was built in 1890 and was designated the diocesan cathedral in 1945 after the Eastern Ohio diocese was created. The cathedral was rebuilt in 1957 when structural issues were found.

“The initial work will be modest at first. But I am confident our trajectory will become much greater in the coming months as we renovate from altar to front doors, from roof to basement hall,” Monforton said in June 2013.

Former Bishop Daniel. R. Conlon had announced plans in 2007 for the construction of a new church near Catholic Central High School that would have served as the diocesan cathedral.

Those plans were dropped when Monforton was installed as the new bishop and decided to renew, restore and renovate Holy Name Cathedral.

(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)