Church 150 years anniversary and the need for renovation
Most people have noticed that our church has gradually become quite dirty and dark inside. A few years ago, we tried to wash it inside as far as you could reach up the walls without scaffolding and it was successful. But now it has become dark and dirty again, and the need for a thorough interior cleaning and painting has become increasingly urgent.
The reason for this urgency is that in 2026 St. Paul’s Church will celebrate150 years since the church was completed and opened. This happened on the feast of the Apostle Paul, June 30, 1876. In 2008 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the foundation of St. Paul’s parish. In the early years, the Holy Mass was celebrated in an attic room in Kalmargjerdet. Eventually, the land where the church and school are located today was purchased. Before the church building was completed, Mass was celebrated in the schoolroom in the vicarage, which was demolished when St. Paul’s school was built. When the money ran out, the parish priest at the time, Father Stub, had to travel around Catholic Europe to collect funds. Construction could then continue, and in 1876 the church was opened.
What took place then was probably a “benediction” – a blessing of the building by father Stub. There are no records that show that the church has ever been consecrated. A church consecration must be performed by the bishop, but we find no records that this has ever taken place, which would be strange if it had actually happened. It is therefore not unlikely that our parish church will be consecrated by Bishop Fredrik Hansen when he visits Bergen and St. Paul’s congregation in connection with the anniversary on June 28, 2026.
This makes it extra important that the church appears in the best possible condition! There are three measures that we want to implement:
1) The first is washing and painting the interior, preferably going back to the original colours. This may involve pink or terracotta-coloured arches, profiles and columns, as the columns are built of a light pink Italian stone.
2) The second wish is to reinstall the old high altar, which is currently stored in the crypt.
3) The third is to install a communion bench in front of the altar.
These plans are being worked on and will be presented to the Bishop and the Art Commission. If we get the go-ahead to proceed, it is planned that the painting work will be carried out during Lent 2026, from January 26 to March 13. The goal is to have everything completed for the Easter celebration. When it comes to the high altar and communion bench, we have a little longer. It will also be considered whether the lighting in the church can be improved.
The project will be expensive. Just the paint and scaffolding is estimated to cost over three million kroner. The congregation has some saved funds, and both borrowing and further fundraising are being considered. We still have a loan of around two million kroner remaining after the exterior renovation, of which two million has already been paid off. Some groups, including the Vietnamese group, have already raised funds, and we hope the rest of the congregation will contribute so that we can celebrate the anniversary in a newly renovated church.
Dom Alois Brodersen
Parish preist