VAN BUREN – Simplicity with elegance – that was the goal for parishioners who have completed a renovation and restoration of their 50-year-old red brick church in the St. Bruno-St. Remi Roman Catholic parish.

The project, costing more than $425,000, culminated nearly nine years of planning, fund raising and construction for the parishioners.

St. Bruno, established in 1838, is the oldest parish in the St. John Valley. Its first mission chapel, established in 1826, was attached to St. Basile, New Brunswick. St. Remi Parish was established in 1922 at Keegan. The parishes were combined in the 1980s. The building they use now was originally dedicated on June 15, 1952.

“It took us a long time to do this, because we wanted to do it right,” Philip Dufour, a member of the planning and working committees, said last week. “The most remarkable thing is the number of parishioners who worked as volunteers, donating countless hours during reconstruction.”

Dufour estimated that work done by volunteers probably saved the project $100,000 beyond the $425,000 the project cost.

“We wanted a finished product that was simple, but elegant,” he said. “We wanted to retain and recycle as much as possible of the existing elements of our church.”

The parish reconstructed the interior of the church. Dufour said one of the problems was to keep the traditional church that people were used to, but to make it more pleasing, more up to date.

The interior work took seven months.

Pews were moved to another location, where they were shortened and refinished. They were reinstalled on a new linoleum floor.

The interior of the church was painted, using three shades of cream. The ceiling was restored to its original beauty by removing 50 years of dust and dirt and sealing it with a clear finish.

The sanctuary, where Mass is celebrated by the priest, was reconfigured. The original altar was repositioned, and walls were reconstructed.

Significantly, a wall that covered part of three stained-glass windows was removed to allow full view of the glass.

In addition, the eucharistic tabernacle area was done over, and a new ambo, or pulpit, was constructed.

The ambo was done with original slate saved in the reconstruction of the sanctuary. The slate came from a Communion rail that set off the sanctuary from the rest of the church.

A baptismal font was constructed to the left of the sanctuary. The font came from a church in Massachusetts.

Walls of the church were insulated, a handicapped-accessible restroom was constructed, new lights, wiring and sound system were installed, a new floor was put in, pews were spaced differently, a new reconciliation room was done, and new furnishings were placed in the sanctuary.

Dufour said 20 to 25 people were involved in the planning, 20 to 25 assisted in the fund raising, and dozens more volunteered their services during construction and the cleaning up afterward.

In the 1970s and 1980s, another $250,000 had been spent other projects. That included a new roof on the church and rectory, siding and windows for the rectory, electrical systems, the brick exterior of the church was repaired, clear Lexan coverings were installed on the exterior of the stained glass windows, classrooms were built for religious instruction and a new heating system added.

Many of those projects had to be done before the interior renovation began. Leaky roofs had caused much of the deterioration inside the church.

The project was done in phases, as money became available.

“Today we celebrate the end of a journey that started 25 years ago,” Dufour told fellow parishioners at the Oct. 6 Mass. “It was a journey with many bumps along the way. We should look at the completed project and know that it is truly a parish accomplishment.”