There are 4 altars in the church.
All of them have been changed several times since our original building.
The 2 side altars in the alcoves or “shrines,” were originally in St. Peter in Chains Cathedral in Peterborough.
After the Cathedral’s renovation in 1920, we obtained them and they were installed in approx 1925.
The one is the Vision of the Sacred Heart revealed to St. Margaret Mary Alcouque, in the Rue de Bac in Paris. The western shrine/altar is the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France in 1858, the same year that our church was opened. They had been closer to the windows, but in 1957, were brought out into their present position, so the congregation could see them. These side altars were used for the priests’ private masses.
The high altar was a gift from the Kieley Family in 1933, replacing a much smaller altar.
The angels on the sides of the altar were replaced with the current angels in 1957.
The bottom front of the high altar was brought out to form the base for the Altar of Sacrifice that we use for celebrating Mass today.
The altars are actually composed of faux-marble with a few marble tops, that is, they are plaster with a painted marble finish. Right now they are very fragile and we have had deterioration problems.
As well the high altar has 1960’s Formica on it’s front. We intend to repair any damaged plaster, repaint the faux marble finish and the statues, put in appropriate lighting, especially on the statue of Our Lady and the Child Jesus, and recreate new designs on the base of the high altar, similar in size and colour to side altars.