After 45 years of withstanding the tough Northeast environment, the concrete face of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa underwent a restoration that involved resurfacing its exterior with granite veneer from China

Situated on 170 acres of land in Doylestown, PA, is the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, which was dedicated by Archbishop John Krol and President Lyndon B. Johnson in October of 1966. Groundbreaking had begun two years prior in August of 1964, and it was designed by Jerzy Szeptycki, a Polish architect, and built by Matthew McCloskey of McCloskey & Co. Builders of Philadelphia.

For more than four decades, the concrete face of the church endured nature’s elements — eventually causing cracking and deterioration that resulted in water damage to the interior of the building. In 2005, A restoration project was set in motion, which included refacing the Shrine’s exterior facade with granite veneer.

“After a couple of years, the newly elected Provincial of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, Father Christopher Wieliczko, became aware that the Shrine was in dire need of restoration and many improvements needed to be done,” said Jozef Laudanski, the restoration advisor for the project. “He reached out to me to help him because of my history of working on churches. One of the first important projects I supervised was the installation of the marble floors in the upper and lower levels of the National Shrine — 30 years ago.”

According to Laudanski, the main church building suffered extensive water infiltration problems — from the roof to the facade. “Restoration started on the roof — where the initial problems were — to correct and upgrade elements of the original roof to resolve the water problem,” he said. “This escalated after further review to a total redesign of the roof so no water could collect anywhere. This led to a comprehensive study of the facade, which showed there was a delaminating and cracking problem on all the walls of the church. In the end, Father Christopher and I made a bold decision that a total restoration was the best option. Years of spot repairs, if continued, would not yield correction necessary to maintain the Shrine for the next several decades.

SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT STONE

“I did extensive research of materials that would be suitable for the Shrine,” Laudanski Explained. “My family has a history in renovating and working on churches. My father, Anthony, renovated a lot of churches in Poland after World War II and also later on.”

After exploring all the options, it was decided to use granite to reface the exterior facade.

“Many stone suppliers in the U.S. and Canada were contacted, and proposals were received,” explained Laudanski. “In my research, we discovered [National Stone Traditions, Inc.] in Port Murray, NJ, that had the creative and technical expertise that could help us with this project. A project of this scope required someone that could deal with the many unusual requests we had. We needed someone who would take the time and fulfill our request for a 20-foot statue and 20 stations of the Rosary Garden [as well as] simple 12- x 12- inch pavers and everything in-between.

“Father Christopher and I worked very closely — one-on-one with John Malyshko of Natural Stone Tradition Inc.,” continued Laudanski. “John has the patience and creativity that helped us in the selection process for everything we did. John supplied us with many samples and suggestions that helped us tremendously — always concerned for our budgetary needs. John and his partner, Jean Bonnet, have an office in China that helped the Church a lot. We would not have been able to get so much done so quickly without the efforts of their company. Marcia Schultz in John’s office handled logistics of the orders and deliveries that kept everything running smoothly.”

Careful consideration was given before a final decision was made to use Chinese granite for the project, according to Laudanski. In addition to strength and durability, the color choice was also important. The final decision was made to use the same color granite that was used to create the statues in the Rosary Garden, which also blended with the color of the other buildings in the complex.

“In choosing the granite, we were looking for a stone that would last for many years, but also have a look that was warm and inviting,” he said. “The Shrine has visitors from all over the world who come on pilgrimages to pray and see it. We wanted them to be greeted by a warm, welcoming impression. The granite we picked fulfilled all those needs.”

THE STONE DETAILS

According to John Malyshko of National Stone Traditions, Inc., the granite was quarried in a remote area of Northern China. “The stone is not normally extracted for export,” he explained. “The quarry was small, and material from it was used for local projects.”

A total of 35,000 square feet of granite veneer panels — measuring 17 5/8 x 34 x 3 inches — were used to reface the Shrine. “The majority of the stone panels were produced in a sandblasted surface,” said Malyshko. “Polished panels were used on selected areas of the lower level of the Shrine.

“The idea for polished panels came about to help facilitate inscribing at a later date — names of individuals or families who would like to donate money to help the Church in its restoration project,” Malyshko went on to explain. “Also, adding polished panels helped create viewed contrast to break up large areas of walls and keep the lowest rows clean.”

According to Laudanski, careful thought was also given to how the heavy granite panels would be installed. “Before we placed our order [for the stone], we consulted with our engineer to help us design huge stainless steel hangers that would handle the weight of the stone walls,” he said. “Also, extensive galvanized steel frames and supports — extending to the basement foundation — were added to handle the load of the 3-foot panels. Father Christopher insisted on stainless steel to avoid future corrosive erosion issues that would occur. All the walls were designed with an air space behind all stone panels to insure that the walls would breathe and to evaporate any water that could possibly get trapped in the walls.”

DESIGNING A MEANINGFUL ENTRANCE

The final stage of the restoration project was to determine what should be done with the front of the building. “Father Christopher wanted to do something special for the front of the church,” explained Malyshko, adding that it resulted in a year of discussion and endless brainstorming and proposals. “In the year of 1382, the Pauline Fathers [of Poland] were entrusted with guarding the Miraculous Painting of Our Lady of Czestochowa. In keeping with this spirit, Father Christopher decided to produce a 20-foot granite statue of the Madonna with Child along with two 6-foot angels in relief panels flanking the head of the statue. He and Jozef Laudanski decided to place the 20-foot statue in the niche cut into reinforced concrete of the face of the building. Extensive engineering of steel supports were also needed to support such a massive statue and not compromise the structure of the church.

“Months of planning and design led to production of the full-size clay model and several trips by Jozef Laudanski for approval of the models,” Malyshko went on to say. “Then the carving process started. It took the year to produce — start to finish.”

“When I visited the production area in China, my goal was to make sure that there was a consistent level of quality in the carving and to make sure no shortcuts were being taken on such a large project,” said Laudanski. “Also, I made sure that the sculptors were sensitive to the facial expressions that statues require. Father Christopher entrusted me with this task because his schedule did not give him time to walk away from his religious duties. He was very happy with everything that was done. We were able to bring new life to the Shrine.”

The statue of the Madonna was created in four sections of solid granite — several of the sections weighing close to 5,000 pounds each, according to Malyshko. This was done in order to make the delivery and installation possible. “Finer granite was used — that had less variation of grain and color — so individual sections would blend together more easily,” he said.

Laudanski had advised the team of masons to cut three openings into 8-inch reinforced concrete. Two openings were cut out to the right and left of the entrance to house 8-foot statues of Blessed Eusebius and Saint Paul the First Hermit. A third and Larger opening was cut out above the entrance to house the 20-foot Madonna with Child. Each opening was surrounded by specially carved stone moldings. Placed above the Madonna are 17 pieces of veneer with relief carvings of two angels reaching out to place a crown upon her head.

COMPLETION OF THE SHRINE

In total, it took three years to complete the restoration of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa. In addition to the main building, the project also involved creating a Rosary Garden and a one-mile granite paved walkway with 20 sets of granite statues. “The most challenging aspect of the project was the coordination of the delivery and production of material so there would not be delays in construction due to delays in material,” said Malyshko. In addition to the granite veneer panels and statue of the Madonna with Child, National Stone Traditions produced the full statues for the Rosary Garden and 80,000 square feet of Granite pavers, which were cut into 12- x 12- and 6- x 12-inch pavers.

According to Laudanski, he advised several crews working on different aspects of the restoration. Each crew was comprised of 6 to 10 dedicated workers. “The most challenging aspect was to make sure all our efforts would last for generations to come,” he said. “Also, it was important to insure the safety of all our workers on scaffolding at extreme heights working with heavy stone. [Additionally], the Shrine was kept open during the restoration, so it was necessary to insure the safety of visitors to the Shrine during the three years of construction.”