Bishop consecrates new sanctuary at St. Mary, Spokane Valley

Bishop Thomas Daly anoints the new altar with holy chrism during Sunday Mass at St. Mary Catholic Church in Spokane Valley on Nov. 27, 2022 (Photo: Grant Whitty/Inland Catholic)

Father Jeffrey Lewis, the pastor of St. Mary Parish in Spokane Valley, was joined by Bishop Thomas Daly and Father Kyle Ratuiste, vocations director, for the dedication of the new sanctuary and altar inside St. Mary’s church Sunday morning.

Before Renovations c. 2021 (Courtesy Photo)

The Holy Mass began at 9 am on to full pews of faithful Spokane Valley parishioners. Bishop Daly blessed the space and congregation with holy water at the beginning of the Mass.

After Renovations (Photo: Grant Whitty/Inland Catholic)

After the homily, the consecration began with a prayer over the altar. Bishop poured holy chrism on each corner of the altar, then, using his hand, covered the altar in the poured oil. A thurible was placed on the center of the altar, lit with incense. Another was used to bless all four sides of the altar. Father Lewis and Deacon Daniel Glatt then prepared the bare altar with proper linens, candles and a crucifix.

The Holy Mass resumed with consecration, reception of the Holy Eucharist and closing. The parish community was encouraged to stay after Mass to make Advent wreaths in the parish hall.

The renovation project has been in the works directly and indirectly for many years. According to Father Lewis, there had been talking of adding a crucifix to the sanctuary since the early 2000s. In the years since, the church has seen a few additions, including bringing the tabernacle into the sanctuary, replacing the hardwood floors under the altar, and updating sound and lighting equipment.

Father Lewis was assigned to St. Mary in the summer of 2019.

“My first weekend here, parishioners approached me asking when we would get a crucifix in the sanctuary,” Lewis said.

Before long, Lewis began looking into the possibility of revitalizing the sanctuary and bringing a crucifix in. The project did not become a reality until two parishioners passed into eternal life, leaving donations in their wills specifically for sanctuary remodels.

The community celebrates Mass at St. Mary on Nov. 27, 2022 (Photo: Grant Whitty/Inland Catholic)

After several revisions, Father Lewis and parish council members eventually presented the final designs to the community, placing large posters in the gathering space during the Christmastide in 2021.

“We put the mockups out in the back of the church, open for comments,” Father Lewis said. “We had overwhelmingly positive responses, with just a few negative comments.”

After a successful presentation to the community, the parish began to move forward with the renovations and started work on the space earlier this summer. The project took longer than expected due to supply chain management problems affecting the country this year. The wood high altar and tabernacle were installed in late summer, with the new stone altar installed in October, followed by the ambo in November.

The new sanctuary space features a white marble altar and ambo, each having various holy images inscribed within them. The tabernacle was centered and supported by a wooden high-altar, with the Blessed Mother and St. John flanking either side of the new Crucifix. The Immaculate Heart of Mary was placed according to tradition, left of the altar, with the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the right. Blue paint and faux marble were positioned between the two new arches extending down from the middle.

A sacred artist local to Spokane was commissioned to write four icons for the baptistry and one for the sanctuary, which will be installed later this week. The old altar has now become an altar dedicated to St. Joseph on the far left side of the church.

“I am extremely happy how everything turned out,” Father Lewis said. “The altar is a little more accommodating for my height. I am six-foot-five and had back surgery. We can always bring a foot stool for my shorter brother priests (laughing).”

Liturgy and prayer times for St. Mary in Spokane Valley can be found at stmaryspokane.org

One of the new icons in the baptistry depicts the baptism of Christ.