Thank you for allowing me to visit your parish, celebrate Mass with you, and talk to you about our retrofit project.  For those of you considering a donation, on behalf of Bishop Calvo and I, please receive a sincere thank you in advance.  We have all been blessed by the sacrifice made by those who founded, built, and maintained our beautiful Cathedral.  It is now our opportunity to rebuild this church for our children grandchildren and future generations.  A pledge/donation form may be sent via your parish office or directly to: St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral, 310 W. Second St., Reno, NV  89503  Most Gratefully, Rev. Thomas Czcek, OFM Conv. Rector, St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral

9/15/08

A note from Fr. Tom:

In a continuing effort to keep all of you informed as to the progress of the retro-fit of our Church this is "Update #2" in our series.

I would like to once again thank all of you who have pledged to this important project and ask you to continue to pray that through the intercession of St. Francis our efforts will be successful.

Thanks, to the crew of TNT construction, the engineers, architects, specialty trades and Diocesan staff, our project remains on schedule despite the occasional discovery of unanticipated issues. The ceiling has been rebuilt, the roof and floor joists are being secured to the exterior walls, additional insulation is being placed in the ceiling crawl space, the organ has been removed for refurbishing, the choir loft is being reinforced with metal bracing, the electrical system and plumbing are being upgraded to code, additional air conditioning capacity and duct work are installed, the foundation of the new side entryway and elevator shaft have been poured and are taking shape, the new bathrooms are almost finished, improvements to the sanctuary are nearing completion and damaged plaster is being replaced.

I have had an opportunity to inspect the crawl space above the ceiling. The roof was well built and the timbers are in good shape. Also, I have seen the inside of the steeples which still bear the scars of the 1909 fire and which will be repaired and reinforced soon.

God bless you…

Fr. Tom 

9/7/08
From Fr Tom,                   

I want to thank all of you who have made a pledge to the Capital Campaign for the rebuilding of our Cathedral. This fall, Bishop Calvo and myself will be asking other parishes to participate in this project. Thanks to Fr. George Wolf, Holy Cross Church was the first to respond and now we will be seeking the response of other parishes in the Diocese. Please continue to pray the prayer of St. Francis to assist us to complete the project we have started.

I have toured the construction site and great progress has already been accomplished. The nave of the church has been completely covered from floor to ceiling with a new layer of drywall. This week it is being textured and then it will be painted. The new light fixtures have been ordered since it was less expensive to put in new fixtures than refit the old ones. The electrical system has been upgraded and new electrical boxes have been installed. New air conditioning units have been added for the hall and church to allow localized cooling without having to cool the whole building. The new bathrooms have been roughed in and are proceeding on schedule. The foundation of the west entry way has been poured. I am amazed at the amount of concrete and rebar in this structure which will provide a secure space and strengthening for the whole building.

I went into the bell tower and could see burnt beams from the 1909 fire. The floor is being secured to the foundation and the roof is being secured to the walls with metal braces. The sheer wall behind the shrine of Mary is completed from the foundation to the top of the wall. You can see much of the work that has been done will be out of sight. However, this is the main purpose of this engineering project to secure our church for the future.

Peace and Good. Fr. Tom