Catholics To Break Ground
For New Church in Randolph
By Sandy Vondrasek Cooch

Sts. Donatian & Rogatian Catholic Church is going all new—getting even a new name—with construction this year of a $1.4-million church complex at the corner of Route 66 and Hebard Hill Road in Randolph.

A groundbreaking ceremony with Burlington Bishop Salvatore R. Matano will be this Sunday, April 15, at about 11:30 a.m.

Before presiding at the groundbreaking, Bishop Matano and four co-celebrants will lead the 10 a.m. mass at Sts. Donatian & Rogatian in Randolph village.

At Sunday’s festive, seven-shovel groundbreaking, Bishop Matano will confer a new name on the new church.

Until then, the name will remain a secret, Sts. D&R pastor, Father John Milanese, said this week.

Fr. Milanese explained that Sts. D&R is 140 years old, and it is one of many churches named, at the time, after fairly obscure "third-century martyrs." The current church was built in 1906, on the site of the original church built in 1867.

It is anticipated that the new 10,000-square-foot, single-story Catholic church will be ready for occupancy by Christmas.

The complex will house a new church that can seat 275, compared to the 130 or so that Sts. D&R now accommodates. The church will also have two side devotional chapels, Fr. Milanese said.

On the opposite end of the building—designed in an arc around a curved drive—will be a spacious new parish hall. Adjacent to the new hall, which is about three times larger than the one at Sts. D&R, will be a modern kitchen.

In the design, a large administrative area is situated between the church and hall wings. It will house offices, a conference room, and a small chapel where daily mass can be held.

Fr. Milanese said that a wood craftsman, Bob Franklin of Vernon, has volunteered to make three "gothic design" pieces—an altar of sacrifice, altar of repose, and pulpit—for the interior of the church.

Parts of the exterior, including the tower-like entry to the church, will be faced in redstone, with the balance to be sheathed in textured concrete panels.

Windows Retained

Not everything will be new. To honor the church’s 140-year history in the community, there will be some touches of tradition. Stained glass windows at the current church—two of them installed in 1909, and the rest salvaged from the original 19th-century building, will be installed in the new church.

And the Sts. Donatian & Rogatian name will not be entirely abandoned. Fr. Milanese said this week that the smaller chapel will carry the church’s historical name.

Jim Kirkpatrick of Brookfield, president of the parish council, noted this week that the project will bring two important side benefits—parking and accessibility—both of which have been huge problems at the present Church Street location.

Kirkpatrick noted that excitement is high at Sts. D&R, where talk about undertaking either extensive renovations at the current site or building a new church have occurred periodically over the past 35 years.

Fr. Milanese noted that planning for a new church first occurred in the early 1970s, under the leadership of Fr. Joe Sullivan. However, that project foundered, and in the early 1990s, some of the building’s deficiencies were addressed in a renovation project.

Fr. Milanese said that when he arrived in 1995, "building a new church was the furthest thing from my mind."

However, he found the church was experiencing a space crisis, including the lack of space for religious education for parish children. Another renovation project was considered, but it would do nothing to improve the lack of parking and could not adequately solve access problems for the elderly and handicapped.

In 1999, Milanese sat down with East Randolph architect David Shepler, and the two developed a design for what priced out then as an $800,000 church. Land was acquired on Route 66, and fundraising got underway.

Major Gift

The fund drive was given a huge boost when parishioner John Nugent offered to donate $400,000, if the parish could raise the same, according to an article in the Vermont Catholic Tribune.

The project was subsequently put on hold, as the Vermont diocese undertook a study to determine how it might "realign and redistribute clergy," due to a lack of priests, Milanese said.

Then just one year ago, new Bishop Matano gave his blessing for the project to go ahead, but by then, the cost of building had risen to $1.4 million.

Fr. Milanese noted there have been a series of meetings with church officials since then, to address funding issues.

Milanese noted that it is imperative that the church raise the entire $1.4 million, because "We can’t sustain a mortgage. The congregation is small; it would strangle us."

Milanese said Sts. D&R has about 115 "active families," and about another 100 member families.

Funding remains a challenge. Fr. Milanese figures that the church has $1.1 million, from funds already raised, plus proceeds from anticipated sale of the church and its rectory across the street.

Milanese will continue to live at his family home in Barre, where he cares for his elderly mother, thereby removing the need for a rectory, at least for now.

Church leaders have launched a new "300 Club" fund drive, hoping to raise the final $300,000 needed. An appeal has also been put out to the entire diocese for donations.

Contractor for the project is Neagly & Chase Construction Co., of South Burlington. The new design, based on the footprint developed by Shepler, is by architect Ann Vivian of GVV Architects of Burlington.

Sunday’s Events

• A 10 a.m. Mass, with Bishop Matano, and "concelebrants" Fr. Milanese, Rev. Peter Routhier, Rev. Leopold Bilodeau, and Rev. Michael Augustinowitz.

• The 11:30 a.m. groundbreaking ceremony.

• A sold-out fundraising dinner at 1 p.m., at the Randolph Senior Citizen’s Center, prepared by Chef Bob Hildebrand of the Three Stallion Inn.

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