In 1900, St. Adrian Catholic Church built a brick structure to replace the wooden one that had burned. The baroque interior had a splendid high altar with a decorative ceiling overhead, an egg molding that circled the wall of the nave, and painted designs on the arches above.
Then came Vatican II, which put the emphasis on being a pilgrim church and not on buildings, said Father Timothy Hall, the current pastor. The mood was to keep it plain, to cover up the decoration and baroque elements, which were considered a distraction. In addition to removing the communion rail and setting a smaller altar closer to the congregation, the ceiling, molding, and arches were whitewashed.
With the coming of the 21st century, the question of decorative or plain was no longer an issue. Needing to refurbish the interior, the members of the parish raised nearly a half-million dollars to restore the interior to its resplendent beauty. The project was completed in 2005.
“You have to be very careful, because you want to preserve the integrity,” said Fr. Hall. “They’ve moved very cautiously in what they’ve done.”
Using old photos as a guide, the ceiling over the high altar was painted with blue panels outlined with gold leaf, each panel decorated with a painted angel medallion. Design patterns were returned to the arches over the nave. The egg molding with its little baroque angels was covered in gold leaf, which was also used to highlight the carving on the high altar. New carpet was laid while the pews were sent away to be refinished.
St. Adrian was founded and named for an Irish saint (whose name was the same as the name of the established town) in 1877. The first congregation was Irish, folks who came through the services of the Catholic Colonization Bureau. When they moved out to St. Paul, Germans moved in. “Now the only thing Irish here is the pastor,” said Fr. Hall with a smile.
Side altars and much statuary were never removed from St. Adrian, nor was the scene painted on the arch over the sanctuary. Thanks to the renovation, the century-old edifice preserves the golden age of decorative church interiors — the glory of human artistic ability to draw attention to the glory of God.
