(click on any picture to zoom in)
This is a picture of our new church. We are most grateful to the generosity of our many supportive parishioners who have made it a beautiful place for gathering and worship. We appreciate the dedication of our chief architect, Lisa Moritz, and our liturgical design consultant, Ken Griesemer, who gave generously of their time and talents.
As we approach the entrance plaza to our new church, we have sweeping views of Sparks, Reno, and the snow-covered Sierra Nevada Mountains. There is a water feature, with streams of water flowing over boulders from our parish site.
The bell whose ringing beckons parishioners to Mass was cast in 1895 in New York. For years it hung in the firehouse on the Divide above Virginia City. In more recent years, it was in the tower of our former church on Pyramid Way in Sparks, which was built in 1932
Inside the gathering space of our new church, the visitor encounters a prayer chapel to his right, a religious gift shop, and this beloved marble statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. During the 1960's and early '70's, this statue stood outside the Immaculate Conception School on Richards Way. Following the closure of the school, the statue stood at the entrance of our former church. It now graces our gathering space and has an attractive granite background, the gift of Ken and Laura Dixon of Take It for Granite.
The visitor enters the worship space through massive wooden doors. The warm, welcoming space accommodates approximately 1,000 for Mass. The infant immersion bowl of hammered bronze, with water flowing continuously over its sides, greets the visitor. Slightly in front of this font is the granite adult immersion font lying below the floor of the church and covered with heavy metal grating. The font is opened for adult baptisms on the Vigil of Easter and remains open for the seven-week Easter season.
Turning, and looking upward, the visitor can see the 54 flamed copper pipes for the Rogers Organ, a gift of Emily Gilmartin. There are five stained glass windows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which were also at the front of our former church.
Looking diagonally across the worship space, the visitor can see the pews of ash, with the altar in the center of the church. Most of these pews are placed antiphonally, facing the altar. The ceiling of the church is also ash wood.
The altar, constructed by parishioner Frank Bigotti and his gift to the church, is of Honduran mahogany and ash. Square in shape, with rounded corners, it permits the priest presider to face only one side of the church for daily Masses, weddings, and funerals to give those present a more intimate sense of community within a large worship space.
The pulpit is of Honduran mahogany and ash. Artifice of Q & D Construction designed and built this ambo, which raises and lowers for tall or short lectors and those in wheelchairs.
The tabernacle tower, designed by Liturgical Designer Ken Griesemer who was responsible for much of the liturgical design of the church, is of Honduran mahogany wood. The tabernacle itself came from our former church. We have Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament five days a week in our church. This tower is designed to display the monstrance for Adoration.
The crucifix above the tabernacle tower is an enlarged replica of the crucifix in our former church. The Wood and Iron Factory of San Diego was responsible for its carving, along with the ash pews of the church.
The rose widow featuring the likeness of the Holy Spirit was designed and constructed by the Hogan Studios of California. The rose window was a gift from the Lepori family. Our present church site is a part of the family's former ranch.
This is a partial view of our 20 mysteries of the rosary in stained glass. 15 of the mysteries, the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious, were in our former church for 35 years. They, along with five new luminous mysteries of the rosary were all constructed by the Hogan Studios.
This 1,800 pound bronze statue of the Pieta came from the DeMetz Studios in Italy. It stands to the right of the tabernacle tower and was the gift of the DiPietro family.
This shrine of the Immaculate Conception is one of several within our church. This statue, along with several others, once stood in our former Church and were renewed by the Evergreen Studios.
Immediately off the gathering space is our parish parlor. It provides us with a comfortable place for meetings as well as for families to gather before funerals and weddings.
Our parish hall adjoins the church gathering space. It can be divided into up to six soundproof meeting rooms and is large enough to accommodate 330 persons for dinners. The south wall is
wall-to-wall windows which provide sweeping views of Sparks, Reno, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
This is a partial view of our kitchen in the parish hall. It has two stoves, four convection ovens, refrigerators and freezers, an ice machine, and a large counter space.
South of the hall is the patio of stamped, stained concrete. The patio provides a place for informal gathering of parishioners after services and activities.
New Additions
This is a picture of our new Faith Formation Building, dedicated by Bishop Calvo September 14, 2008. It has 8 classrooms, two offices for our Directors of Elementary and Secondary Religious Education, and an office for Youth Ministry.
This is a mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the work of Reno artist Katie Packham, and a gift of Tony and Anita Zabala.
Directly to the west of our new church is our Prayer Garden. Bishop Calvo blessed the Garden Sunday, March 22, 2009. The portal is of used brick from the century-old creamery on the former Denevi ranch, a gift of that family. A parishioner, Bart Lydon, designed and built the caption "Via Dolorosa."
This is one of the 14 Stations of the Way of the Cross. The Stations are from our former church and are encased in metal wayside shrines which are lighted at night.
At the top of the hill stands this statue of the risen Christ, a replica of the 100-year-old statue which is at the entrance to St. Patrick's Seminary, Menlo Park, California. It was a gift of John and Marian LaVoy.
The statue of the risen Christ is surrounded with a rose garden and seats, providing visitors the opportunity for prayer and reflection. A natural rock outcropping is a part of the Prayer Garden. There are views to the south of the valley below.