A multi-million dollar renovation project has been underway in southeast Virginia – on a church. But this is no simple structure.
It’s the historic Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, the only African-American basilica in the US. Part of the project involves bringing life to a huge pipe organ.
This towering treasure has looked over the heart of downtown Norfolk for 162 years. A major reason the basilica still stands is because of the compassion of donors.
“Yeah, incredibly generous people,” Fr. Jim Curran, the church’s pastor, told CBN News. “It was also very affirming, the importance of this church to the city of Norfolk; everybody seemed to care about it. And it’s stood in this spot since 1858.”
Curran calls himself “a White pastor, pastoring a Black flock”, something he tells CBN News is not an issue.
“They have accepted me and loved me and really formed me in so many ways in my faith,” he said. “That’s the real beauty.”
“This is gorgeous, too,” he added, referring to the church building itself.
Repair Leads to Renovation
Fr. Jim says what started six years ago as a leaky roof repair exposed greater problems. The entire structure was compromised due to rotted-out support beams. It led to a restoration effort that’s grown into an almost $7 million renovation project.
“The Lord saw it through, and He gave us what we needed, and enough so much that we could even include the organ, which again was not part of our plan,” Curran said. “But we had it, so we decided to restore that beautiful organ that hasn’t been played in decades.”
The majestic pipe organ is the original instrument, believed to have been built in 1858. Former organist at the church Dr. Brandon Spence calls the organ an “old friend”, and says it’s a blessing to be able to play the pre-civil war instrument.
“Not everyone has access to an instrument like this with its history and the beautiful sound that it makes and just so many things,” Spence told CBN News. “I don’t know that there’s enough time for me to adequately describe what it’s like to just be here again and to have played it in the past and still be associated with it.”
‘A Cherished Friend’
Spence sat down and played it late last year for the first time in more than forty years.
“I was a kid when I was playing this before, and it’s like getting reacquainted,” he shared. “It was actually like coming home. When I was here, I spent most of my time here; I would come in early in the morning, late at night, after classes, to practice here.”
“So a tremendous amount of my life was spent not just working on the instrument, but in being a musician, learning from all that this instrument had to teach me here,” he continued.
“So it was like greeting a very dear friend, a cherished friend,” he added.
Spence showed my crew and me the capabilities of the organ and then introduced me personally to his “cherished friend”, allowing me to play it.
It’s remarkable that an instrument of this age is intact and playable. The case that the organ sits in is 36 feet high, and it has around 2,200 pipes.
“…and to see the tears of the faces of parishioners when they heard it,” shared Curran. “They haven’t heard it in decades, and they come into this beautiful church, and they can hear the beautiful sound, and it was just so complete.”
“I cannot imagine what it’s gonna sound like when we have the full capability of that organ,” he continued. “It’s just going to elevate all the way to Heaven; it’s just incredible.”
The restoration of the organ is 30 percent complete. To finish it, Fr. Jim says it will require another capital campaign to raise a million dollars, with the goal of completing it in two to three years.
Special Designation
Pope John Paul II gave St. Mary’s the special designation, “minor basilica”, in 1991, making it the only one in Virginia.
Spence says it helped encourage Black Catholics and show them the Church cherishes their involvement.
And the massive pipe organ in their midst, full of history and sound, can also be inspiring.
“It’s all a part of prayer and praise and thanks to God, so don’t come to just look at an instrument,” Spence said. “It’s much of the instrument an intimate connection with people who come and worship here, and who have for a century and a half now,”
“So it’s not a museum piece; it’s something living; I guess our liturgies are prayers of the church throughout history, and this organ can certainly – it certainly is very much a part of that,” he continued.
The remainder of this article is available in its entirety at CBN