In a mad dash to get the new St. John Neumann Shrine (A.K.A. St. Peter the Apostle Church) Atrium ready for a dedication ceremony held on Sunday, the 5th of January, our crews spent some of the days immediately before and after Christmas installing some of the last bits of timber trim. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter joined Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia and other church officials at the blessing of the atrium.

There are a couple pieces of the project not yet fully in place, but for the most part, we’re ready to move on to Phase 2 of the project, the St. John Neumann Community Center across the street from the atrium. Timber frame work on that phase is scheduled to begin in the next couple of months. The church and shrine will welcome the Pope Francis during his first visit to the United State in late September of this year for the World Meeting of Families 2015 event.