AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The oldest Catholic Church in GA is raising funds for their stained glass window restoration project.
Most Holy Trinity was first organized in 1810 and the current building, built from 1857 to 1863 , is a monument to one of Georgia’s earliest Catholic communities and is an impressive example of Romanesque Revival in the 19th century church architecture.
But the historic stained-glass windows at Most Holy Trinity are in urgent need of restoration.
“These stained glass windows have been here since the 1910s, so over a 100 years, now,” says Father Jacob Almeter, Pastor of Catholic Church of the Most Holy Trinity in downtown Augusta at 720 Telfair Street.
“Father Jake” points out some of the weathering and damage that is requiring more than half-a-million to restore the one-of-a-kind stained glass at Most Holy Trinity.
“You can see the bulging at the bottom where it’s cracking, where the leading is coming apart,” says Almeter. “Stained glass is supposed to tell a story. So many people, particularly in the medieval times, were illiterate. So many of the faithful, Christian faithful, didn’t know how to read and write. They couldn’t necessarily just pick up scriptures and read them and things like that. So, what they did, is the Church said, ‘Well, let’s put the stories in imagery on glass.’