The Plan

After 75 years of regular worship and maintenance, the interior of the church is beginning to show signs of wear and tear. From wall repair patches and faded or chipping paint to the accumulation of dust, incense residue, and old candle soot, the church interior is in need of a subtle touch-up as we prepare to celebrate our Centennial.

As we honor the vision of our founding parishioners and the legacy that has been entrusted to our care, we have 3 major goals for our interior restoration:

1 – A minor adjustment of interior paint colors.

• Without significantly departing from the current look of our beautiful church, a contrasting color palette between the walls and the major columns will better highlight and accentuate the historic art and architecture of the church, particularly our signature reredos behind the altar, our stained-glass windows, and the images of the saints around our church.
• A new decorative band along the ceiling joint of the transept, as well as minor painted accents at the base of the dome, will more naturally draw the worshipper’s eyes up to our magnificent dome and then back down to the reredos and specifically to the tabernacle and Christ’s presence inside our church.

2 – The restoration of the Reredos.

• A combination of deep cleaning and paint/accent touch-ups will restore the richness and beauty of the reredos which towers behind and above the entire sanctuary. Our most iconic architectural and artistic element has been mostly affected by the decades of incense and candle soot and many of the finer details have become faded or covered.

3 – The Holy Spirit Dome

• Thanks to the generosity of one of our campaign’s first donors, the entire interior of the dome will be painted gold and a large symbol of the Holy Spirit will be prominently placed at its center, a powerful visual reminder that everything we celebrate here at the the Parish is thanks to the grace of God and the movement of the Holy Spirit.

Phase 1 Complete

On October 30, 2025, the City of Coral Gables issued a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, marking the completion of Phase 1 and allowing us to return to the church for all Masses and services. Learn more about all the work performed on the church interior from June-October 2025:

As you walk into the church, you may look around and initially think to yourself, “What changed? Something is different, but I’m not sure what it is.” Nothing would make us happier! As we set out to renovate and restore the church, our guiding principle was always ensuring that whatever we did to the church, make it seem like it had always been that way. Over these next few pages, we’ll highlight some of the work that was performed this summer, along with some “before” photos so you can compare. Having been away for 5 months, you may not remember exactly what it looked like originally!

Colors

Among the more obvious or evident aspects of the projects is the fresh coat of paint throughout the interior of the church. The new color scheme of the walls was selected to better complement the decorative reredos above the altar. The natural hues of tan and yellow help to foster a warmer ambiance in the church, reflecting not only the light of Christ, but the warmth of our welcoming community. The accent colors also work to naturally draw your attention forward towards the sanctuary and up towards heaven. Looking from the main entrance at the west end and working your way east, you’ll notice the capitals at the tops of the columns grow in scale, decoration, and weight of colors, moving from a simple gold detail to a more ornate capital with golds, reds, and more intricate shading. Your eyes will be naturally drawn next to the new decorative friezes at the top of the transept walls, ultimately leading you to the beautiful reredos and the new Holy Spirit Dome. This natural movement toward the Divine is an essential aspect of good church architecture!

Reredos and Side Altars

The main reredos above the altar may look like it was freshly painted, but in reality, the bulk of the work on it was a deep cleaning to remove years of incense, candle soot, and dust. Once cleaned, small areas of the plaster were repaired and repainted and the more detailed paint lines and shading accents were crisped up, giving it a “new” appearance. What you see today is nearly identical to what you last saw on June 8th, with a lot less dust! The side altars of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Therese and St. Anthony are a different story! With 75 years of flower and candle offerings, the altars and statues alike were badly in need of repair. All 4 statues were professionally touched up by a local artist and the 4 altars had major plaster work done. The two altars in the vestibule had to be dropped 11 inches to avoid the ceiling, which previously cut off the top outside corner of the decorative molding. All 4 side altars were repainted from scratch, with colors selected to match the main reredos in the sanctuary. The gold accents connect the side altars to the overall scheme of the church and the brighter bases and rear panels really make the statues stand out, helping us to appreciate the fine details and craftsmanship of each one.

Dome

Internally, one of our favorite aspects of the whole project is the new Holy Spirit dome. As you look up into the glorious new dome, you may have a hard time remembering what was there previously: nothing! The blank canvas of the original dome was begging for something beautiful and the artists at John Canning Liturgical Arts certainly delivered. The new oculus at the base of the dome provides a natural transition from the heavily decorated reredos and upper capitals to the shimmering metallic gold of the dome itself. The cream vertical tiles are original to the dome and were left unpainted, providing both a nod to our history and a sense of connection between heaven above and earth below. The jewel of the dome, of course, is the new mosaic of the Holy Spirit, a reminder that everything we celebrate in church is an outpouring of Grace through the movement of Spirit, which will now be flying overhead for the next century and beyond!

Ceilings, Windows, and Acoustical Work

Looking up around the dome, you may notice something else strikingly new and different, the solid-painted ceilings. The material of the original ceilings, tectum board, is sound-absorbing and was originally installed to dampen the acoustics of the building. After professional acoustical testing of the space, though, it was determined that the new organ and choir loft would need much livelier acoustics in the room. All the tectum board in the central nave was encapsulated and the entire ceiling was then painted to match the beautiful pre-existing rafters. The treated ceilings throughout the building now serve to not only enhance the acoustics, but also to help keep your vision from wandering, allowing you to appreciate the finer architectural details overhead. The stained-glass windows were all cleaned and the mullions and muntins were all reglazed and repainted black, which both accentuate the rich colors of the stained glass and also highlight the iconic window shapes that are now memorialized on each of our new pew ends. Additionally, special acoustical panels were applied to the new facing of the choir loft and a new stone cap and wrought-iron railing will soon be installed atop that loft wall.

The Hidden Gems

For all the visible work performed that will be enjoyed by parishioners for generations to come, there is probably twice as much hidden work known only to staff, contractors, engineers, architects – and now you! Though not nearly as glamorous as the beautiful finished details, these hidden parts of the project were some of the most essential. If you sit underneath the choir loft or stand at the vestibule and look up, you may notice a newly finished ceiling. Just beyond that surface is a major steel reinforcement package that had to be carefully hoisted into place in order to support the 39,000-pound pipe organ which will arrive in February. The 48-foot span of the primary steel beam at the face of the balcony required the careful coordination of 3 forklifts and a team of laborers to carefully guide it and secure it in place. The two new columns by the main iron gate, pending their decorative covers (coming soon!), provide additional support while another 10 steel cross-beams create the reinforcing footprint, perfectly in line with the steel framing of the organ and choir loft flooring above. Astute observers may be able to find some new floor tiles spread throughout the building. Upon removal of the old pews, hundreds of tiny holes needed to be refilled. Decades of wear and tear had also resulted in broken or pitted marble tiles, all of which were filled in, repaired, or completely replaced, in the nave and sanctuary alike. All the marble was then finely polished before our beautiful new solid wood pews arrived and were installed.

Remaining Work

The sprint to November 1st was a massive undertaking and we are incredibly appreciative of our entire team for rising to the challenge. The work highlighted in these pages is only a small sample of all the incredibly detailed work that was performed throughout this past summer. As you enjoy our beautiful church again today, please note that we are not entirely finished. Work will continue with some finishing details downstairs and ongoing preparatory work upstairs in the choir loft, ahead of the arrival of the new pipe organ on February 1st, 2026.

Thank You!

We can’t finish without properly thanking everyone who made this project possible, from parishioners, benefactors, and friends of COTLF to our parish staff and team of contractors. Special thanks to LuxMundi Consulting, Gurrimatute Architects, PMM Consulting Engineers, Threshold Acoustics, Vilar-Hoynak Construction, Louis J. Aguirre & Associates Engineers, Real Masters Construction, United Rentals, JZ Demolition, Dade Made Steel, Classic Air, K&Z Ductwork, O&R Construction, Santa Rosa Insulation, Ruiz Electric, FPL, Dash Door, RETC Flooring, Imperial Flooring, Pro Painting, John Canning Liturgical Arts and New Holland Church Furniture.

A grateful parish thanks you all!