Waukesha church reopening, historic St. Joseph finishes $500K renovation

WAUKESHA, Wis. - It is a moment that thousands of Waukesha Catholics have been waiting for since January. Historic St. Joseph Church is finally set to reopen after extensive renovations.

Restoration complete

What we know:

This is the public's first look at the $500,000 renovation. Parishioners have spent all year worshiping at Waukesha's three other Catholic churches.

"There are parts where the paint was kind of looking a little bit tired and falling down a little bit," said Father Matthew Widder.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

For years, parishioners at Waukesha's St. Joseph Church worshiped in a space that was showing its age.

"The cornerstone of this church was laid in 1888, the church was dedicated in 1890," Widder said.

Widder explained the church went four decades without any updates. In January, the parish made the difficult decision to temporarily close for more than six months for a top-to-bottom renovation. Parishioners gathered for a Rosary in their own chairs.

"It was a surreal moment – because at that point, all the pews were out, but we said as this project started, this is still a sacred place, and we want to still make sure we offer prayer here for the success of the project," Widder said.

The wait was worth it. After fundraising $500,000, this is what St. Joseph Church looks like now, featuring new floors, new paint and new views.

"This wall was much higher – it was cut back," Widder said.

Upstairs, Widder showed how a once partially obscured stained-glass window now shines much brighter. Widder said parishioners even volunteered to move pews to a building nearby and sand each one down.

"Frankly, I didn't think it would be possible – these pews have been here for a long time. They were in rough shape," Widder said.

For a place affectionately known as the "Church of Second Chances," St. Joseph now has a new chance to inspire.

FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android

"The church is meant to help us lift up our hearts to heaven – where heaven and earth kind of come together. St. Joseph has that feel," Widder said.

Contractors are still working to finish up before the church reopens on August 1. A big crowd is expected for a bilingual mass at 5 p.m. that night, which will be followed by a reception.

Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Bret Lemoine and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.

NewsWaukeshaReligion