St. Pius X Church Plans October Groundbreaking for Faith Center

Monsignor Lawrence Carroll, pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church on Brookside Drive, was beaming in McKinley School's cafeteria Tuesday night.

The church's plan to build a 14,230-square-foot Faith Center behind its sanctuary had just received its last required approval from a town commission, and the vote was unanimous.

"It's moving toward a fever pitch," Carroll said of enthusiasm for the Faith Center, which would include a chapel, prayer garden, community room, choir room and office and meeting spaces. "Once we have a symbolic groundbreaking, it will take off."

Denis Sullivan, chairman of the church committee overseeing the expansion, said he hoped to break ground for actual construction in October. "We want concrete in the ground before the winter," he said.

Sullivan said construction would take about 10 months, meaning the Faith Center could be finished next summer.

St. Pius X Catholic Church started a capital campaign for the proposed Faith Center a few years ago and has enough money to begin construction and to replace the church's roof, which would both be done at the same time, Sullivan said.

Construction documents are due to go out in the next few weeks and the church would then receive bids on them, Sullivan said. "We're hoping this is a good market now. Builders are looking for work," he said.

The overall capital campaign had a goal of $5.5 million, but that also included additional work on the 834 Brookside Drive church, Carroll and Sullivan said. That work was identified on the church's Web site as: Installing new doors at the church entrance and sacristry, repairing and repointing the church's brick work, replacing all gutters and leaders, refinishing and restoring church pews, painting and restoring outdoor columns, and restoration and repair to wood on the tower and front of the church.

One of the advantages of the Faith Center is it will allow the church to hold smaller weekday Masses in a chapel, rather than heating or air conditioning the main church, according to Carroll and John Fallon, the church's attorney.

James Kennelly, one of seven members of the Town Plan and Zoning Commission to vote in favor of the addition, said, "It's only going to strengthen the bonds of community in that particular neighborhood."

Kennelly said the addition was "an absolutely lovely design" and would create "more of a campus look" to the church's property. He said the church now resembled "an island in a sea of parking."

"It was a wonderful plan," said Deborah Owens, a commission member. "I don't see any downside to granting this application."

No one spoke in opposition to the proposed Faith Center during the commission's July 13 public hearing. In fact, several neighbors and parishioners turned out to speak in favor of it.

"The neighbors like it," said Douglas Soutar, a commission member. "It's just a very positive proposal."

Seth Baratz, the commission's chairman, said he didn't plan to "bother piling on" in praising the addition, but couldn't help himself. "I really like the parking design and the building design," he said.