Focus on next phase as restoration work 'pause' ends at Windsor's Assumption Church

A pause in the ongoing restoration work is over at Windsor's Assumption Church, and the focus is now on the next stage of the project.

Work on the historic church on Huron Church Road, right under the Ambassador Bridge, was paused earlier this year due to a $150,000 funding shortfall.

Restoration coordinator Paul Mullins says $5.5 million had been raised, but they spent $5.65 million, and their goal is not to leave the parish with any debt once the restoration work is complete.

The debt was erased as a result of additional donations and fundraising, and now the restoration effort actually has $30,000 in the bank.

Detailed work was recently completed on the walls inside the church, the ceilings and murals on both ends of the main portion of the church, and the 1919 Casavant Opus Organ is now back in service.

Restoration coordinator Paul Mullins says the next phase involves St. Joseph's Chapel, a chapel at the side of the church, which will require $75,000 for the restoration work, and they need to complete two-thirds of the center ceiling in the main body of the church and the sanctuary, which carries an over $1.45 million budget. 

Mullins says the center asile of the ceiling and the sanctuary is specialized work that requires engineered scaffolding to reach the ceiling and clear out the insulation in the attic, even before artists begin restoring the murals.

"Then you have to clean it on the back side of the ceiling," he says. "Then there's an epoxpy type substance that's sprayed on it, which has several applications. That soaks into the plaster and solidifies it; it actually makes it stronger than it was originally."

Organist Michael Rickets performs on the recently restored organ in Windsor’s historic Assumption Church. Additional restoration work is about to begin at the church under the Ambassador Bridge. #cklw ⁦@AM800CKLW⁩ pic.twitter.com/r592nG6S56

— Rusty Thomson (@RustyThomson800) May 15, 2024

Mullins says it's marvelous to have the organ restored, which involved removing all 2,000 pipes for cleaning and repairs.

"One of the things that's really gratifying now that we have the organ restored, we are able to recreate the very same sound that the grandparents, great-grandparents, and people in this parish have enjoyed for the last 105 years," he says.

Mullins hopes the work on the inside of the church is completed by 2025, so they can celebrate the 100th anniversary of all the original design and artistic work by Guido Nincheri.

The church, which first opened in 1845, was closed in 2014 when it was determined the building needed millions of dollars in restoration work.

After an initial fundraising campaign, construction began in early 2019 on the first phase of the plan and included the installation of a long-term copper roof, a new heating system, major electrical work, and structural repairs.