• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
An architectural rendering shows what the renovation of St. Joseph Church in Cockeysville will look like. (Courtesy St. Joseph, Cockeysville)

Rock-solid plans: Cockeysville church set to begin $6.5 million restoration

December 1, 2022
By George P. Matysek Jr.
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Arts & Culture, Feature, Local News, News

John Srygley, architect for a church renovation at St. Joseph in Cockeysville, joins Monsignor Richard Hilgartner (center), pastor, and John Speights (right), project manager from CAM Construction, in examining stone samples. (Courtesy Monsignor Hilgartner)

COCKEYSVILLE – More than 160 years after Irish and Italian immigrants extracted marble from a local quarry and used it to construct St. Joseph Church in the Texas enclave of Baltimore County, parish leaders are following in their founding parishioners’ footsteps.

At nearby Martin Marietta Quarry, church leaders have successfully located the same kind of stone as was employed in the original church. They plan to use it as the focal point of an ambitious $6.5 million church renovation project expected to kick off after Easter.

The famous Cockeysville marble, which has also been used in the construction of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., the pillars of the U.S. Capitol and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, will be extracted in large chunks in the coming months and delivered to St. Joseph’s campus.

The parish has hired Hilgartner Natural Stone Company in Baltimore to cut and finish the stone – a company providentially founded by current St. Joseph Pastor Monsignor Richard Hilgartner’s fourth-great grandfather, Ludwig Hilgartner.

World-family “Cockeysville marble” will be used in a new arch to be installed in the sanctuary of St. Joseph in Cockeysville. (Courtesy St. Joseph, Cockeysville)

Artisans from Hilgartner (no longer affiliated with Monsignor Hilgartner’s family) will shape quarried marble into 40 large stones that will form a prominent arch in a soon-to-be renovated sanctuary. The new arch, framing a crucifix, will mimic an existing marble arch that has graced the church entry since the building was erected.

“The introduction of the original stone back into the church is more than just a neat architectural feature,” said Tyler Tate, a longtime parishioner who serves as chairman of the building committee. “It really is paying homage to the history of this parish and this region’s historical importance. I think it ties back to a fundamental part of human nature of wanting to feel connected to the physical place in which you reside. It connects geography, geology and history with the more important things like faith and meaning.”

Monsignor Hilgartner, who leads the 2,800-family parish, said the renovation will harmonize the interior look of the church with its classic exterior. Currently, the sanctuary features a modern design introduced during a 1967 expansion. Under the new plans, the interior will hearken back to its 19th-century aesthetic, with a new altar mimicking the look of the original. The church ceiling will be raised to its original height, and an interior dome will be constructed featuring a stained-glass window of the Holy Spirit that is now located elsewhere in the church.

An arch made of stone quarried locally frames the entry to St. Joseph Church in Cockeysville. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“It will be much brighter and more inviting,” said Monsignor Hilgartner, noting that JRS Architects of Baltimore and CAM Construction Company of Timonium are working on the renovation effort.

The corners of the building’s transepts will be opened to improve sightlines to the altar. The extra space will allow seating for approximately 50 more people, bringing total seating capacity to about 700 – accommodated  on new white pews.

Monsignor Hilgartner said he is excited about building improvements that will enhance music ministry. A 45-rank, three-manual pipe organ is being constructed by the Peragallo Organ Company in New Jersey to replace an aging electronic one. A designated spot for music ministers will include flexible seating, the pastor said, and enhanced acoustics are expected to invite more participation at Mass.

As part of the renovation project, obsolete HVAC, sound and lighting systems will be replaced and a fire safety system will be added. The building will also be made compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and restrooms will be expanded.

During construction, which is anticipated to last up to 10 months, St. Joseph will offer daily Mass in a parish hall and weekend Masses in a gymnasium.

“People have been incredibly generous in supporting this,” Monsignor Hilgarter said. “The fact that we’ve been able to raise more than $6 million in less than a year has been remarkable.”

Tate, president of Lewis Contractors (which is not involved in the St. Joseph project), said the pastor, building committee and design team made aesthetic decisions with “a timeless mindset that will serve not only the current generation, but generations to come.”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

Also see

Archdiocese launches anti-racism program: ‘In God’s Image: A Racial Justice Journey for All’

Archbishop Lori tells conference to look at ‘root’ of violence, poverty

Mercy on the move with athletic advancements

Make Jesus’ ‘Gospel friendship’ the heart of Catholic social ministry, says Baltimore’s Bishop Lewandowski

RADIO INTERVIEW: Celebrating Catholic Schools Week

Bilingualism is a ‘superpower’ at Archbishop Borders School

Copyright © 2022 Catholic Review Media

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

George P. Matysek Jr.

George Matysek, a member of the Catholic Review staff since 1997, has served as managing editor since September 2021. He previously served as a writer, senior correspondent, assistant managing editor and digital editor of the Catholic Review and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

In his current role, he oversees news coverage of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is a host of Catholic Review Radio.

George has won more than 100 national and regional journalism and broadcasting awards from the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, the Catholic Press Association, the Associated Church Press and National Right to Life. He has reported from Guyana, Guatemala, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

A native Baltimorean, George is a proud graduate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Essex. He holds a bachelor's degree from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore and a master's degree from UMBC.

George, his wife and five children live in Rodgers Forge. He is a parishioner of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.

View all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Gov. Moore’s budget cuts BOOST, proposes phase-out of scholarship program
  • Mercy delivers Magic show in ‘Classic’ victory over Maryvale
  • Catholic pro-life activist Mark Houck acquitted of federal charges
  • Catholic schoolteachers describe what they love about their jobs
  • Former priest Frank Pavone, head of Priests for Life, faces sexual misconduct allegations

| Latest Local News |

Archdiocese launches anti-racism program: ‘In God’s Image: A Racial Justice Journey for All’

Archbishop Lori tells conference to look at ‘root’ of violence, poverty

Mercy on the move with athletic advancements

| Latest World News |

Mosque suicide bombing targets police, dozens dead

Scholars, diplomats reflect on U.S. and church’s response to the Holocaust

Pope preaches peace, cooperation, resilience to a Congo ‘gasping for breath’

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Mosque suicide bombing targets police, dozens dead
  • Archdiocese launches anti-racism program: ‘In God’s Image: A Racial Justice Journey for All’
  • Scholars, diplomats reflect on U.S. and church’s response to the Holocaust
  • Pope preaches peace, cooperation, resilience to a Congo ‘gasping for breath’
  • Archbishop Lori tells conference to look at ‘root’ of violence, poverty
  • New translation tweaks to sacrament of penance take effect this Lent
  • Pope arrives in Congo after praying on flight for migrants
  • U.S.-born priest to lead Vatican body overseeing selection of world’s bishops
  • With national March for Life behind them, pro-life advocates plan for state marches, rallies

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2023 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED