Charlottesville’s First Roman Catholic Church, Holy Comforter was initially dedicated to African American Catholics around 1880. By 1950 the current church was established, and in 2017 the current Pastor engaged us to update and restore the Chapel. The sanctuary’s original marble furnishings were produced in a rare type of Tennessee marble. We found salvaged domestic marble in our collection to restore them–a perfect match with Holy Comforter’s original tones of light rose, dark rose, and cedar marble.
After carefully dismantling the existing altar, ambo, and sanctuary steps, we used this rare antique salvaged marble to design and fabricate a new rear altar and new sanctuary flooring and steps. We also restored the historic altar of sacrifice and ambo, installing them according to the architect’s vision. A project highlight was creating the new rear altar, with a handmade Art Deco clay tile mosaic frieze in the mensa where our master mosaic artist matched the original color and style meticulously.
This project stands as an excellent example of our liturgical design-build capabilities. We’re honored to serve communities of faith as a unique resource for seamlessly matching rare and antique stonework and mosaics.
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia.
Completion: 2018
Owner: Catholic Diocese of Richmond Virginia
Architect: Erik Bootsma Architect
General Contractor: Rugo Stone LLC
Size: 2,000 square feet
Services Performed: Design, dismantling, salvage, reproduction, and fabrication of new matching marble and mosaic work.
