Sanctuary Renovation

Many of you remember that fateful day, June 5th, 2019, when our sanctuary became a victim of arson, by a disturbed young man. Our presider and deacon chairs were set on fire, which soon spread to the sanctuary walls and carpet, and filled the entire church with a cloud of thick toxic smoke that reached deep into our air handler HVAC system. 

As providence would have it, it was not a total loss. We caught the fire in time before it reached our tall wood ceiling and other areas of the church, however, the damage was done, and soon reached into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

After the dust settled and the initial shock of it all quelled, we asked the inevitable question, “who would do such a thing and why?” A team of investigators came immediately from around the State to answer just such questions. Within a few days, a suspect was arrested and booked into Leon County jail. 

As justice is being served, our need for forgiveness is brought to light. Knowing the demands of the Gospel, we set our minds, as our hearts caught up later, to forgiving. If, as a parish, we cannot forgive, then we are not a community of Christ-followers. Forgiveness is not only a human affair, but it is sacramental. 

Click HERE To See More Photos From The Church Fire

With all of this said, we now set ourselves to the task of not only restoring but also building for the future. The central focus of St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral is its sanctuary. Paint and a few used chairs as a replacement can only serve as a temporary fix. We are now in our 53rd year of celebrating our presence on terra firma in Tallahassee and now look for a more permanent solution to our center of worship. 

Last Fall, I assembled a Sanctuary Renovation committee, made up of a cross-section of parishioners who know and love our cathedral-parish of St. Thomas More.

Bishop William Wack
Fr. John Cayer
Silvia Alderman
Mike Collazo
Segundo Fernandez
Heather Jordan
Dasha Nixon
Jeanne O'Kon
Bill Preston
Jean Uthmeier
Michael Williams

After numerous meetings and conversations with a few church design companies, we have settled upon working closely with GrandaUSA. Granda is a liturgical company that was started by Fr. Felix Granda, who founded his workshop in 1891 in Madrid, Spain. His satellite offices exist around the world, including the USA. We are confident that what Granda helps us create, will, in turn, help you create a beautiful worship experience and a legacy for future generations. Please click on the link below to see more about GrandaUSA. 

GrandaUSA Company Info

You may notice some new barrel lighting in our sanctuary. These lights are temporary lighting fixtures while our other ones are re-fitted with new lighting. Our lighting within the sanctuary is also another important factor in our overall design. Rambusch Lighting was selected to help us reach our desired effect in creating a beautiful sanctuary. Currently, they are finishing up work on Sacred Heart Cathedral in Pensacola. We are confident they will do a great job for us here at St. Thomas More Co-Cathedral. You can find more about them on the link below. 

 Rambusch Info 

Our General Contractor is NewSpace. Mr. Thomas Jordan has completed, with great satisfaction, many of our past projects, and we are happy to have him and his team return to assist us with our most prized project yet, the redesign and construction of our sanctuary. We’re very excited to have him with us. 

Please find within this webpage and link, pictures from the day of the arson. Very soon you will see pictures of a design that will counter the horror of a sanctuary burning. While the principal design of our new sanctuary is close to being finished, the fine details are still being worked out and will be ready for you to see very soon. In the words of our first bishop, Rene Gracida, who redesigned our current sanctuary in 1976, “this is only temporary.” 44 years is a long time for something temporary, but perhaps providence has a hand in all of this. We look forward to the year ahead as the details will be hammered out and the making of the project a labor of love for all of us.