DEGREE. 113 YEAR OLD BASILICA, AN ASHEVILLE AND A WORKING PARISH AND A BIG TOURIST ATTRACTION. BUT RIGHT NOW ITS MEMBERS ARE WORKING TO PRESERVE THE BUILDING AND THE HISTORY THAT IT HOUSES. WYFF NEWS 4 SPORTS PEYTON FURTADO HAS THIS STORY. THE SANCTUARY IS BEAUTIFUL, HISTORIC AND IN NEED OF REPAIRS. BUILT IN 1909, THE BASILICA OF ST LAWRENCE OF ASHEVILLE SERVED HUNDREDS OF MEMBERS AND THOUSANDS OF TOURISTS EVERY YEAR. BUT ACCORDING TO A 2020 STUDY, IT NEEDS $18 MILLION WORTH OF REPAIRS, STARTING WITH ROOF AND DRAINAGE SYSTEMS. SO FAR, THEY’VE RAISED $2.1 MILLION OF THEIR CURRENT $3 MILLION GOAL. THE COST OF FIXING THE ROOF AND RAINWATER COLLECTION SYSTEM, EVERYTHING COMES OFF THIS HUGE DOME TRYING TO MOVE THESE FOUR AREAS AND DRENCH THESE FOUR SCULPTURES. AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS IN THESE RAINWATER COLLECTION AREAS ON THE ROOF, IT BUILDS UP AND THEN WATER INFILTRATES AND THAT CAUSES EFFLORESCENCE AND IT CAUSES DAMAGE TO THE WATER OF THE BUILDING. AND IF WE DON’T DEAL WITH THIS, THEN IT’S GOING TO CAUSE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO THE BUILDING. THIS IS THE ONLY BASILICA IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND THE LARGEST FREESTANDING ELLIPTICAL BASILICA IN NORTH AMERICA. AFTER THE ROOF, THE CHURCH PLANS ON REPAIRING SEVERAL OTHER THINGS THE FLOORING, THE PEWS AND THE STAINED GLASS.
‘A place of peace’: Historic Asheville church in need of repairs to continue community work
At 113 years old, Basilica of St. Lawrence the Deacon and Martyr is a working church, museum, piece of art and a tourist attraction in downtown Asheville. Now, its members are asking for the community’s help.
At 113 years old, Basilica of St. Lawrence the Deacon and Martyr is a working church, museum, piece of art and a tourist attraction in downtown Asheville. Now, its members are asking for the community’s help.Basilica preservation fund President Mary Everist said it has an unexplainable effect on people, drawing in more than 130,000 visitors annually.”Immediately, their voices quiet. They stop, they look up, the stare in awe at this ceiling and the beautiful artwork,” she said. “It’s a place of peace and quiet and solitude in the middle of a very bustling downtown.”But to keep it open to the public for another 100 years, a 2020 study showed it would need $18 million in repairs. The first priority: The roof and rainwater collection and dispersal system. “Everything comes off this huge dome, drains into these four areas and drains through these four scuppers,” Everist said. “And what that means is, in these rainwater collection areas on the roof, it builds up, and then water infiltrates. And that causes efflorescence and it causes damage to the mortar of the building. And if we don’t do this, then it’s going to cause structural damage to the building.”So far, church members have raised $2.1 million of the $3 million they’ll need to do this, with roof repairs hopefully wrapping up by the end of 2024.In that time, the church will continue mass and outreach to the surrounding community.”If the Basilica were to have to close down and move outside of the downtown area, there would be a hole in the social service net of things that the basilica and the parish does for the downtown community, for the unhoused population,” she said.Built by acclaimed master builder Rafael Guastavino, the church houses history and a rich collection of art. But, according to Everist, it also serves as a sanctuary to Asheville’s church-going, immigrant, and homeless communities — a place where everyone can worship equally before the cross. “There are places in the world where the veil between heaven and earth has grown thin because of all the prayers that have gone up in there. And I see, personally, the basilica as a thin place. You go in here, and you feel the presence of God, of a higher power,” she said.
At 113 years old, Basilica of St. Lawrence the Deacon and Martyr is a working church, museum, piece of art and a tourist attraction in downtown Asheville. Now, its members are asking for the community’s help.
Basilica preservation fund President Mary Everist said it has an unexplainable effect on people, drawing in more than 130,000 visitors annually.
“Immediately, their voices quiet. They stop, they look up, the stare in awe at this ceiling and the beautiful artwork,” she said. “It’s a place of peace and quiet and solitude in the middle of a very bustling downtown.”
But to keep it open to the public for another 100 years, a 2020 study showed it would need $18 million in repairs. The first priority: The roof and rainwater collection and dispersal system.
“Everything comes off this huge dome, drains into these four areas and drains through these four scuppers,” Everist said. “And what that means is, in these rainwater collection areas on the roof, it builds up, and then water infiltrates. And that causes efflorescence and it causes damage to the mortar of the building. And if we don’t do this, then it’s going to cause structural damage to the building.”
So far, church members have raised $2.1 million of the $3 million they’ll need to do this, with roof repairs hopefully wrapping up by the end of 2024.
In that time, the church will continue mass and outreach to the surrounding community.
“If the Basilica were to have to close down and move outside of the downtown area, there would be a hole in the social service net of things that the basilica and the parish does for the downtown community, for the unhoused population,” she said.
Built by acclaimed master builder Rafael Guastavino, the church houses history and a rich collection of art. But, according to Everist, it also serves as a sanctuary to Asheville’s church-going, immigrant, and homeless communities — a place where everyone can worship equally before the cross.
“There are places in the world where the veil between heaven and earth has grown thin because of all the prayers that have gone up in there. And I see, personally, the basilica as a thin place. You go in here, and you feel the presence of God, of a higher power,” she said.