Ecclesiastical Studios & Sons www.esskcmo.com

For the Next Generation
Beautification of a church interior

These photos show the stunning transformation of the church sanctuary.

Ecclesiastical Studios & Sons, the father and son team of Don and Alex Wendt, specialize in the service to churches, which often gives them responsibility for preserving and restoring delicate and precious architecture. St. Monica Catholic Church in Cameron, Texas was something particularly special. First contacted in 2016, their bid on the statuary and altars blossomed into a decoration and beautification of the entire church interior. Time and money were tight. “Each phase of the project had to be bid with the exact cost and completed in tight timeframes to accommodate the church’s schedule,” said Alex.

Thirty years in the business has taught these Greenwood, Missouri contractors how to plan long-term out of state projects as well as secure solace in a sacred space. “During all phases of the project, work could not interfere with or disrupt scheduled masses,” said Alex. “The job site had to be kept clean and orderly, as well as cleaned daily.”

A relationship with the reverend made it much more fun. “Reverend Dimitrij Colankin would come over to the church to talk with us, check on us, and ask if we needed anything,” said Wendt. “He had a great sense of humor, great ideas, was very caring, and was always a pleasure to work with.” Since the reverend planned to retire in January 2021, the contractors worked to make it a special sendoff.

The job went in three phases:

• Statues, altars, and sanctuary furniture.
• Sanctuary walls and main arch, lower walls in church nave, balcony, columns and capitals.
• The last and most involved phase: Stations: of the Cross, then painting and stenciling ceiling arches and alcoves. After that they painted the sanctuary ceiling above the high altar, adding alpha and omega medallions to each wall.

They worked 25 weeks, six days a week, ten hours a day. A letter from Reverend Colankin notes how pleased he was – even down to the sanding! “The parish community has been enjoying your artistic work, which will also be admired by future generations,” he wrote.

This, their twelfth TOP JOB, is richly deserved.

These photos show the stunning transformation of the church sanctuary.   Detail work in the church ceiling. These photos show the stunning transformation of the church sanctuary.