Church work Valley landmark revived as birthday nears

Nearing its 100th birthday, St. Louis Roman Catholic Church in Fort Kent has almost completed a five-year, $1 million renovation and reconstruction, sprucing up the St. John Valley landmark for the first time in 40 years. The painters have finished; just the flooring and carpeting needs to be done.

In the end, the project, completed in phases as money became available, will be totally paid for, said the Rev. Claude Gendreau, who, until recently, was pastor of the 3,700-member parish.

“We stayed true to what was there in the church, but we worked to enhance it,” Gendreau said in a recent interview. “The last time the interior of the church was worked on was in 1965, right after the Second Vatican Council.”

Gendreau has been reassigned to be administrator of Holy Family Parish in Lewiston. Parishioners bade him farewell at a large gathering July 31.

The reconstruction, which included a new parking lot, a new church roof, work in the rectory and the painting and upgrade of the interior, was started prior to Gendreau’s assignment to Fort Kent. The work started when the Rev. James Plourde was pastor.

The work done in 1965 was performed with the foresight of the Rev. D. Wilfred Soucy, eighth pastor of the parish, which was started in 1870.

The St. Louis church was constructed between 1909 and 1914. A fire on March 30, 1907, destroyed the previous church. Chickering and O’Connell of Boston designed the building that remains standing today.

The first Mass was celebrated in the Gothic-style church on Jan. 15, 1911, although interior construction work lasted through 1914.

A fire started by electricity from a manger scene on Dec. 29, 1949, damaged the church. In addition to repairing the $20,000 in damage from the fire, parishioners approved another $20,000 to expand the church.

During a renovation of the church in 1951, stained glass windows designed by Franz Schroeder of Boston were added.

In 1965, further renovation, including a new rectory, was started under Soucy. The church received new pews, new flooring, a facelift to the interior, a new sacristy and a multipurpose room. The work took four months to complete.

During the last five years, the St. Louis parish has seen project after project to upgrade their facilities.

A Bangor company was hired to replace the slate roof. Large machinery was needed to raise slate to the rooftop. The slate came from the original mine, Glendyne Inc. of St. Marc du Lac Long, Quebec, where slate was purchased to do the original roof.

Gendreau said about half the slate from the original roof was used in the project.

The church parking lot, which is located in a flood zone and was prone to frost heaves and soil movement, was dug down about 7 feet, refilled with gravel, and paved. The work included drainage and manholes. The finished parking areas include created islands and trees for beautification.

In the rectory, the reception area was upgraded and an area was created for a parish store.

In the church, a cry room was removed, the entire interior was repainted by Brent Beaulieu Inc. and his crew from Fort Kent, and carpeting and flooring waits to be done. New railings were added to balconies for safety.

“We changed the colors of the interior, softening the ambiance,” Gendreau said. “There was gold leaf, and we just made that better with 24-carat gold leaf.

“Gold leaf is an art in itself, and Brent [Beaulieu] did a wonderful job,” Gendreau said. “The interior was a six-month project.”

Beaulieu and his crew used hydraulic lifts while doing the interior and none of the seating was moved.

“Fundraising for the project went extremely well,” the pastor said. “Most pledges were honored and we had memorial donations that went well.

“I am very pleased with the entire project,” he said. “It’s all paid for. No debt.”

The parish, which now extends to the former parishes at Guerrette Village, New Canada and St. John Plantation, has 1,300 families.

The building seats 950 people and 1,200 for special services at Easter and Christmas, when balconies are used.