By Joanna Puddister King
NATCHEZ — The beauty is evident just driving by gothic revival style church – St. Mary Basilica – in downtown Natchez. The thousands of tourists that visit the Basilica each year, in addition to many parishioners don’t see all of the work that goes in to keeping such a beauty in shape.
Father Aaron Williams was just appointed pastor of St. Mary Basilica and Assumption parish in May of this year, but he has already taken on projects from restoration work on the rectory and the bell tower, repairs to stained glass windows, and lighting work in the sanctuary – not to mention work on electrical equipment, including the church bell, the organ, sound system and HVAC due to a lightning strike in August. And all of this is in addition to his pastoral duties to the parishes and to students at Cathedral School.
“It is exciting for me to be a part of this great work of preservation,” said Father Williams. “The parish really is a treasure of American Catholic history and we have to do what we can to hand on that treasure to the next generation.”
To help keep up with all of the projects, Father Aaron recently hired a new staff member, Jacob Ali, to serve as strategic planning coordinator. “Jacob is assisting me by being the point-person on all these projects, ensuring they are running on schedule and communicating with vendors and contractors,” said Father Williams.
“Him and a lot of caffeine keep my head over water.”
One major project is the third floor of the rectory located next to the Basilica. The top floor of the rectory historically had three bedrooms, but for many years was used as an area for storage. Over the years, the area was subject to moisture that damaged the walls. The third floor of the rectory has now been completely gutted down to the studs and is now safer said Father Williams. The long-term plan is to restore the bedrooms on that floor for guests.
On the side of the church facing the rectory, it was discovered that two stained glass windows were in need of immediate repair. Father Williams said it was determined to be an “emergency” situation because the windows were both bending out from the frame and could potentially break.
The two windows are now being repaired and cleaned, with new protective glass being installed over them on the exterior.
In 2019, the ice storm caused extensive damage to the Basilica. “Most of that was repaired,” said Father Williams. “But we discovered that the top level of the bell tower was holding water and in the long-term this could prove very dangerous for the structure.” So, the few feet of roofing over the tower was replaced.
Amidst all of the projects, a lightening strike to an adjacent property during a storm in August caused thousands of dollars in damages to various electrical systems, including the church bell, the organ, sound system and HVAC. Father Williams reported that the surge fed up the underground lines and hit the Basilica, the rectory and other businesses surrounding the property.
“Nearly every electronic system in the church was damaged in some way, and we lost some devices in the rectory,” said Father Williams.
He is planning to take this unfortunate event to improve upon systems that were dated or overly complicated to use, particularly the HVAC and lighting systems.
Also damaged at the Basilica was the electrical system which rings the church bell. The parish received an initial proposal to fix the damage but after speaking with several parishioners, Father Williams discovered there was interest in researching the possibility of adding bells to the tower. So, the “Ring out your joy to the Lord!” fundraiser was born to add to the current bells at the Basilica.
The church tower currently has two bells – the larger being the “Maria Alexandrina,” which was cast in the 1840s in Italy at the direction of the direction of Bishop John Joseph Chanche, SS – the first bishop of the diocese. It was gifted by Prince Alexander Torlonia and his wife Maria, of Rome and created by prominent sculptor, Giovani Lucenti, who cast it from bronze. The second, smaller bell which was cast by the Coffin bell company in the 1880s in Cincinnati and was never formally given a name.
After studying the structure of the tower, it was determined that it could handle extra weight, so three additional bells, all smaller that the “Coffin” bell could be supported.
Within days of the fundraiser announcement, most of the sponsorships available for the bell project and restoration work were claimed, leaving only a few thousand dollars to be raised to complete the project.
Along with the restoration work on the bells, an electronic striker will be used for funeral tolls and hour strikes on the “Maria Alexandrina” bell – which Father Williams painstakingly struck by hand 96 times to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, Sept. 8.
Another plan, in work for at least a decade at the Basilica is a “Cultural Heritage Center” to allow parishioners and tourists to have access to the historic treasures of the church and archives, as well as provide a place for evangelization and education on the Catholic faith.
Father Williams says that the parish is in the early stages of planning to convert the lower hall of the Basilica and the original parish library into this center, which will include a museum and place for video presentations. He says this will focus not only on the parish’s local history, but on the beliefs and practices of Catholics. The overall project includes the creation of a website to provide further information and videos to visitors who wish to learn more, as well as a mural to tell the story of the early school and ministry of Bishop Chanche to Black Catholics.
“The original parish hall is of great historic value, as it also served as the original school for Black Catholics in Natchez and was the site of the baptism of over 600 African Slaves at the hand of our first Bishop, John Joseph Chanche,” said Father Williams.
The Basilica is a treasure of the Diocese of Jackson both because of its history and national recognition – welcoming tourist from around the world.
“The church building itself is a national treasure of which we are the custodians,” said Father Williams.
“We wish to preserve that treasure and increase the exposure of the parish particularly through initiative which can leave a lasting impression on visitors and hopefully touch them in their heart.”
Those wanting to learn more about St. Mary Basilica or to make contributions, can visit www.stmarybasilica.org or contact the office at (601) 445-5616.
