St. Peter Catholic Church Repairs A Piece of Their History

Lexington, KY (WTVQ)- A Lexington church has been around for more than 200 years.  ABC 36’s Alycia Dahmer shows us how the church is repairing a piece of its history.

St Peter Catholic Church has been around over 200 years and in this particular location for almost 90 years.

“The story goes the way that Father Punch funded the building of this church was by what we call today a head tax.  Every working person who came through the door each Sunday was expected to put a quarter into the special collection, just for the capital building, for some day down the road.  And again it took 10-15 years to make that happen, but that goes to show what little sacrifices can do to add up to accomplish something big," said Father John List.

A signature piece of the churches history lies in the stained glass windows.  Michael Mezalick currently works on renovating two of the stained glass windows in the church.

"Churches are built for a reason, the needs of the spiritual soul. The stained glass windows are typically there to teach that religion," said Craftsman Michael Mezalick.

They have 15 large stained glass windows that tell the story of the New Testament.  Each window has two stories on them.  They also have other smaller windows to tell the story of the Old Testament.

"Nothing was just done hap-hazardly, it was done for a reason, and, very nicely done by the folks that put them in back then, "said Parishioner Brian McDowell.

It can cost up to 10,000 dollars to repair just one stained glass window, but these windows really tell the story of the church.

“It’s almost a signature of the church.  There are a lot of parts that are in the church that are that way, but this one is so big it almost breathes in your heart," said Parishioner Brian McDowell.

They’re replacing the exterior protective windows with clear glass and venting them to hopefully keep them around in this location for another 90 years.

"It’s an old church, so it needs a lot of work, but everyone steps up and helps out a lot, because it’s so important to them. This is a part of our family, a part of the Dioceses, so we’re very proud of it," said Parishioner Brian McDowell.