Parishioners at Hamilton, Ont.’s newest Catholic church, St. Catherine of Siena, have flocked to the new 30,000-square-foot structure on Rymal Road in overflow numbers since its official dedication Oct. 22.
“It’s packed at the masses on Sunday,” said Father Mark Gatto, first pastor of St. Catherine of Siena.
The church replaces two others, Our Lady of Lourdes and Corpus Christi, that were merged by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton. Proceeds from the sale of those properties supported the new build on the eight-acre Rymal Road site. The budget was in the $20 million-plus range.
Project manager Nolan Hunter of Hamilton’s Ira McDonald Construction Ltd., the project contractor, said on a recent tour that building a new church, where thousands will worship and gaze at their surroundings seeking inspiration, is a unique endeavour.
“It’s the meaningfulness of a project like this that matters to so many people, just being a part of something that’s going to matter for years to come,” said Hunter.
“I can build shopping malls and other things that are really cool and big and complicated, but nothing as meaningful as this.”
The nave where services are held holds 750. Towering traceries of steel and glass panes anchor the east and west sides of the space and the ceiling soars 47 feet tall, created by panels of fibreglass.
Other features of the church include a hall with table and chairs seating approximately 150, a large narthex, which is a gathering space with windows outside the nave, two meeting rooms, a board room, four offices, two appointment rooms and a large professional-style kitchen.
The architect for the job was ATA with Klaas Design, a liturgical specialist, contributing the original base design, said Hunter. Klaas also contributed stained glass designs.
Erection of the roof was fascinating, said Hunter.
“The trade contractor we work with, Walters Steel, is second to none of the industry as far as I’m concerned, the engineering that went into it,” he said. “In order to get that clear span they actually put up a temporary tower that looked like a crane tower, rested the beams on top.”
The roof peak is 65 feet high. Hunter said he was privileged to lay his hands on the cross the day it was being installed atop the church.
After the custom fibreglass panels were installed, there were eight weeks of taping, sanding and painting, with stuccoing required as a contribution to acoustics.
The building has thermally insulated, double-pane glass windows throughout with ceramic frit dots on some surfaces to mitigate heat gain, especially from the large east window.
Other materials are Adair limestone shipped from a quarry in Owen Sound, Ont., large porcelain floor tiles from Italy and red oak.
The limestone pays tribute to the Siena Cathedral in Siena, Italy, and there are wrought iron design elements that are also a nod to the cathedral.
The oak had to be sourced from several different suppliers. The problem with that, Hunter said, is matching the colour.
Computer images would be unreliable, so they had to cut up one piece into six and send them out to suppliers to ensure a good match.
There were also problems obtaining exterior gymsum board cladding and sourcing the extra large doors — and even drywall screws. The supply chain and other issues including excessively rainy weather meant the project wrapped up a several months later than the team originally planned.
Acoustics were a huge part of the project, Hunter said. Besides the specially treated ceiling of the nave, there is one large red oak panel above the entrance into the nave that has micro perforations, and numerous other acoustic panels with slats.
Care was taken to minimize the visibility of the mechanical and electrical systems, Hunter said, with three large air-handling units hidden away and the air-conditioning system outside in concrete pits below ground. Natural gas boilers fuel a hydronic heating system.
“You’ll notice as you walk around, you don’t see any mechanical other than the grills and diffusers in the ceilings,” he pointed out.
In sum, Hunter said, “It’s a brand new church that’s got a very contemporary design that will stand the test of time.”
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