After more than 100 years, to say the kneelers in St. Agnes Church in West Chester needed a major makeover would be an understatement.
Some kneelers were completely broken or had torn covers while most made a loud noise whenever they were lowered due to missing bumpers on the bottom of the kneelers.
The challenge for Father Louis Bellopede, pastor of St. Agnes Parish, was figuring out how to replace the kneelers in a cost-effective way.
Fortunately, St. Agnes has an active Knights of Columbus group – Monsignor Schuyler Council #1333 – that serves the parish and the West Chester community.
Two years ago, council members helped repair the padding on the kneelers in the chapel below the main church.
Greg Neiderer, a member of the Knights who is a project manager professionally, oversaw that project.
Although parishioners began asking Neiderer if the kneelers in the church could be fixed, it took time for him to consider tackling the much bigger project.
“I think I was inspired by the Holy Spirit around Thanksgiving, so I brought the idea to the Knights of Columbus,” he said.
After estimating the cost of materials – red oak wood, metal hinges, vinyl covers, varnishing supplies, and rubber bumpers – totaling $22,000, Neiderer met with Father Bellopede to discuss how to raise money for the project.
That is when divine interventions began to happen. The first one occurred only a few hours after Neiderer’s meeting with the pastor.
“Unbeknownst to any of us, this man came in with his wife that afternoon and gave us a check for $22,000,” Father Bellopede said. “He said, ‘I want to make sure this money goes for something that people could see.’”
After the pastor told the couple about the kneelers, they agreed the money should be used for the project.
In addition to the divinely timed donation, Neiderer experienced what he described as a “Christmas miracle.”
A volunteer cuts wood for 257 century-old kneelers being restored at St. Agnes Church in West Chester. He offered to complete the work at no cost to the parish.
While talking with an acquaintance at a Christmas party, Neiderer explained that he needed someone to cut the wood for 257 kneelers for free.
“He just looked at me and said, ‘I’ll do it,’” Neiderer recalled. “I said, ‘You’ll do what?’ He said, ‘I’ll cut all the wood for you.’”
Although the man is not Catholic, his wife is a member of St. Agnes, he added.
A third miracle happened while searching for someone to stain the kneelers.
“This gentleman just kind of appeared,” Neiderer said. “I was explaining to one of our deacons what we needed, and he says, ‘Oh, I know somebody.’ The man volunteered to stain all of them for us.”
Given the strong odor of oil-based stain and limited space to do the work, Neiderer said finding a parishioner who would do the staining was “a miracle to us.”
Locating a business that could manufacture replicas of the 100-year-old metal kneeler hinges led the Knights to an Amish forge in Lancaster.
“We started asking antique shops and they directed us toward this Amish forge, which makes antique tractor parts, Pennsylvania Railroad memorabilia, and St. Agnes hinges,” Neiderer said.
The renovation project, which began in late March, was completed earlier this month.
A large cadre of volunteers recruited from the council, the parish and the community have diligently worked on the kneelers on weekdays.
Neiderer estimated that about 60 people have helped restore the kneelers.
“We’re keeping an hour log, and we’ll be close to 1,600 hours when we’re done,” he said.
Century-old kneelers from St. Agnes Church in West Chester are stacked after being removed during a restoration project led by the parish’s Monsignor Schuyler Council #1333 of the Knights of Columbus. About 60 volunteers helped restore 257 kneelers while preserving their historical character. (Courtesy Photo)
Volunteers work on the restoration of 257 century-old kneelers at St. Agnes Church in West Chester.
A young volunteer helps her father with newly restored kneelers at St. Agnes Church in West Chester.
The interior of St. Agnes Church in West Chester, where volunteers are restoring 257 century-old kneelers and repairing 55 of the church’s 130 pews.
In addition to the kneelers, Neiderer said 55 of the 130 pews in the church had to be removed and repaired.
A team of volunteers also is cleaning and staining the 3,200-square-foot wood floor under the pews.
“After a hundred years, there’s not much varnish left,” Neiderer explained. “We cleaned an awful lot of gunk off the floors and stained them and then varnished them to extend the life (of the wood).”
The padding from the old kneelers was still usable so new vinyl covers are being wrapped over the kneeler pads.
The new vinyl cover was closely matched to the original color, and the Knights ensured the historical authenticity of the kneelers was preserved, Father Bellopede said.
“Ever ancient, ever new, like St. Augustine said,” he added. “The kneelers are ever ancient, yet ever new.”
To commemorate the completion of the project, Archbishop Nelson Pérez will celebrate a Mass at St. Agnes Church on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 5:15 p.m.
Archbishop Perez is a former pastor of St. Agnes who served there from 2009 to 2012.
Restoring the beauty of the church was imperative for Father Bellopede, given the parish’s long history in West Chester. St. Agnes was founded in 1793, making it one of the oldest parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
“We’re celebrating a hundred years of the third church on this site,” Father Bellopede said. “The people are continually assisting the church to be a beautiful beacon of light and hope for not only this generation, but for the generations ahead.”
The pastor is especially grateful for everyone who has contributed their time and talent to the kneeler project, which he estimated would have cost the parish more than $150,000 if it were outsourced.
“It became a very community-oriented project, and they’re seeing the fruits of their labor,” he said. “They really did a heck of a job, and I’m so happy and proud of them.”
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