A row of columns line the left side of the church. The one on the far left is a marbleized version. (Photos courtesy of the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace)
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The large interior columns of the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace are being blocked off for three months as each undergoes repair and a fancy paint job that will help restore the look of the historic church back to an earlier time.
Since last year, artisans have transformed the plain white plastered pillars inside the church’s sanctuary into “marble” by cleverly recreating the stone’s swirls with auburn and ginger-colored paints.
Ground moisture causes the old plaster to bubble and peel off a column in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace. (Photos courtesy of the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace)
The columns are actually stacked blocks of coral harvested 178 years ago from offshore Honolulu.
Work by Constructors Hawaii Inc. began Sept. 8, continuing work started earlier in the year that had removed the plaster from nine pillars in the main part of the church.
Ground moisture had caused the original plaster to bubble, crack and peel. New specialty plasters, flown in from Germany, are salt-and-moisture-resistant formulas designed for building materials like coral.
Five pillars line each side of the church. One of them was finished last year as a mock-up, replicating historic photos, demonstrating what all 10 columns would look like finished.
According to Kamalani Rodrigues, the cathedral’s restoration campaign director, the old plaster is stripped off each column, which is then sprayed with water using hand pumps to remove loose coral bits and sand. The first column shed 10 gallons of sand, the second column seven gallons.
The holes are filled with new plaster that takes a week to cure. Then two kinds of plaster are used to finish the surface, taking several more days to cure.
Painters then marbleize the surface, completing the process.
In other cathedral restoration work, the main stained glass windows are being covered with Plexiglas to protect them against vandalism. Vandals recently broke three ground floor stained glass windows, two significantly.
Bishop Larry Silva explained his decision to resume renovation work during this time of the coronavirus in a homily May 1, the Feast of St. Joseph the worker.
“As I thought about this cathedral, I thought of the many builders and craft people who would be employed in its renewal; the accountants who would manage the funds; the human resource people who would manage the personnel; the people who would provide the building materials; the cashiers and stock clerks at the building supply outlets; the delivery drivers who would transport the materials here,” he said.
“Then I thought of the workers who would go to the nearby restaurants for a sandwich or a Spam musubi, and of the cooks, dishwashers and janitors who would be employed because of their patronage,” he said. “In other words, what might at first sight appear to be a luxurious expenditure of money in the face of so much economic suffering could actually be the engine that drives an economic recovery.”
The repair and restoration work further limits the number of Mass attendees already reduced by coronavirus pandemic social distancing rules.
In normal times, the cathedral’s six weekend Masses attract more than 2,000 parishioners total. With social distancing, the church can fit about 70 families per Mass, said Rodrigues. The construction has further reduced that to 50 families.
Because of the limited pew space, parishioners have been asked to make Mass reservations, either by phone or online.
The work is scheduled to be finished Nov. 23, Thanksgiving week, the end of the liturgical year.
