From the Desk of Fr. Thomas - June 2026 Newsletter

Dear Friends of Our Lady of Pompeii,

We are exactly half way through the year, and Holy Mother Church has refreshed us with an entire month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus. Here, in Jacksonville, June brings to this project a new wave of Rosary Crusaders who just received their First Holy Communion. If your son or daughter has received their First Holy Communion, they are eligible. Enlist your child today.

For fundraising updates, June saw an increase of $650,000, bringing the total funds raised to $6.93M. We are now 46 days away from August 15, and my goal is to raise another $570k by the Assumption.

Your generosity has allowed us to outpace construction costs, and to this day, we haven’t needed to take out a loan.

There is still a lot of work to do, but being financially strong has allowed this old church to get the love and care that was so desperately missing.

Would you consider helping us meeting this goal?

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For construction updates, I’m pleased to finally declare all of the structure work is finished in the attic space. We can finally close up the ceiling, recreating all of those beautiful curves known as groin vaults. I can't wait until we finish the nave.

There was a lot of bad plaster on the walls. At first we were going remove the plaster in these sections and restore vast swathes, doubling our plaster budget to $200k, but an expert advised us damage to any uncovered neighboring lathe was more extensive then we realized. As the saying goes, we don't want to throw good money after bad... especially if we plan to add exquisite artwork in the future, so I asked for other options. The other option as to remove all of the plaster, uncover and demo all of the lathe, and apply new modern material to finish the wall at the additional cost of $500k and two months delay. An option we simply can't afford.

Every dollar has been stretched to its limit, and another guiding principal during this project ensure every step we take is a foundation stone for the next step. Our team, including the architect and GC, came up with the best decision. We will demo the problematic areas down to the exposed brick, and seal the brick with a white limewash, which mimics the original design concept. This is both budget friendly, will not incur any material delay, and allows us to replaster the church in the beautification phase. The added benefit: plaster restoration falls in scope for grants, so I think it best to reserve this for a new year.

Aesthetically - not much should change. Below, you'll find a rendering where the lower walls have a white pickled finish. Other areas of the church, such as the apse, the triforium and clerestory (think choir loft and up) will remain plastered.

Not only is the StormTec system finished, pavers are laid over the parking lot allowing the team to get our first taste of how the finish product will look.

Operation Benchwarmer is coming along nicely. You can see the pews look comfortable and the seat does not extend into the legroom, ensuring easier access in and out. The book holders are made and the kneelers are next.

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I just arrive in Switzerland for tomorrow's consecrations. In this time of reflection, and in this past month especially, the Pompeii Rising Restoration Project has become clearer to me. This is an act of Charity. Charity not in the sense of mere almsgiving, but more accurately, a willful act of love of God and neighbor.

On the feast of St. Paul, I leave you with the words from today's Communion. And Jesus said to them "Amen I say to you, that you, who have left all things and followed Me, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting."

In the Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Fr. Thomas

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In December, I challenged our readers to find more pictures of the interior of the church to aid us in our ongoing and uphill battle to categorize the old designs. One of you answered with these rare photos! Thanks digital enhancement, we can image what these works of art looked like when they were installed a century ago. Can anyone find a photo of the Epistle side stained glass trio in the apse?

Who's wax seal did we find? A small teaser of a future blog.

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This month’s mailbag comes to us from a young lady named Maria from Sanford who chronicled her recent encounter with Our Lady of Pompeii. Excerpts are found below, but the full story can be found here: A Story of Love and Submission

Dear Father,

At your wonderful recommendation, we prayed the 54-day novena to Our Lady of Pompeii for her guidance, and for the protection of our future. With one heart, my better half James and I traveled to the radiant image of Our Lady of the Rosary at St. Michael's as a final act of thanksgiving and submission. Later that day, we took a tour of the new church, the very same site where my grandparents exchanged vows to love each other forever! To walk down the bride's aisle, to stand in the spot where they exchanged vows, to pose for a photo under the historic carving of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary just as my grandparents had was so surreal.

Father, your strong faith and leadership is made clearly evident in the lovely people of St. Michael's and in the beautiful restoration of a church that has seen so many souls turned to God and His Blessed Mother.

Please pray for us, as we pray for you!

-Maria S.

Maybe we can have Maria and James back when things are finished! If you have a tale of how Our Lady of Pompeii has touched your life or a connection to Old Holy Rosary, please write to me at info@pompeiirising.org for a chance to be featured in next month’s mailbag.