Changing the Lights at Holy Name

I apologize for not getting many photos lately and finishing the sequence on the symbolisms, but we have needed to replace the lights in the apse, which were last replaced 10 years ago, and about 2/3 of them were burned out. We put it off, and found it exceedingly difficult. It is impossible to get in to Holy Name without going up at least 6 steps, and the lift we need to access the apse--40 feet up--weighs about 1000 pounds. So we spent a whole day building a ramp and setting up a winch to get the thing in the church:

When we finally got it in, it was time to change the light. Yours truly, who is the asst. sexton this summer, had the pleasure of chaning most of them. It was a decent replacement for not going to Cedar Point this summer. Here you can see me standing next to St. Thomas holding my instrument of martyrdom, the light bulb. btw, the 30 60 watt bulbs we had up there weighed at least 2 pounds. We replaced them with 100 watt flourescent equivalents--the lighting is much better, but we still can figure out how they replaced them back in the day. I got to see the apostles up close and personal. The fresco is very interesting to see. It is rather rough, but there is a colorful beauty to it. Right before this picture, I found a bag of gummi bears from 1984, presumably the last renovation; it was half full and said "made in West Germany."
It turns out the apostles up there are life-sized.
Here are some pictures from up there. You might note the quality of the colors compared to previous ones, and you can just make out the Hebrew at the top. It is the sacred Tetragrammaton.

Welcome, Father Carvalho

Rev. Antonio Carvalho has returned from Italy and is now taking up his administration at Holy Name. He filled-in during Msgr. Ruef's surgeries and will surely come to know us all the better in the coming year. Please pray for his pastoral guidance, and that of all priests, in this year dedicated to priests.