Paul Lang thought his job was going to be fairly straightforward.
People are also reading…
Paul Lang, left, and the Rev. Michael Radowicz, pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church on Atwood Avenue, stand inside the church’s sanctuary. The building, under Lang and Radowicz’s guidance, is in midst of a transformation into the Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The diocese has been without a cathedral since 2005 when St. Raphael Cathedral was destroyed by fire.
Work progresses on the interior of St. Bernard Catholic Church for its two-year transformation into a cathedral. The church opened in 1927, and every inch of the building has been touched in the $25 million restoration.
Sunlight passing through the cleaned and re-leaded stained glass windows illuminates a newly painted mural in the nearly 100-year-old St. Bernard Catholic Church.
Resin statues of the 12 Apostles await installation in the what will be the altar for the Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Madison. The statues were made in Peru.
What will soon be the Cathedral of St. Bernard Clairvaux is undergoing a transformation along Atwood Avenue. The consecration is planned for sometime in February.
Italian marble and terrazzo tile fill the floor of the sanctuary at St. Bernard Catholic Church.
David Strickland of Affiliated Artists of Milwaukee positions a stencil on a ceiling above the main entrance to the future Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Strickland has spent the past two years designing and painting murals and patterns in the church.
Restoration of the Cathedral of St. Bernard progresses
St. Bernard 1
Paul Lang, left, and the Rev. Michael Radowicz, pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church on Atwood Avenue, stand inside the church’s sanctuary. The building, under Lang and Radowicz’s guidance, is in midst of a transformation into the Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The diocese has been without a cathedral since 2005 when St. Raphael Cathedral was destroyed by fire.
St. Bernard 2
Sunlight passing through the cleaned and re-leaded stained glass windows illuminates a newly painted mural in the nearly 100-year-old St. Bernard Catholic Church.
St. Bernard 3
David Strickland of Affiliated Artists of Milwaukee positions a stencil on a ceiling above the main entrance to the future Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Strickland has spent the past two years designing and painting murals and patterns in the church.
St. Bernard 4
Work progresses on the interior of St. Bernard Catholic Church for its two-year transformation into a cathedral. The church opened in 1927, and every inch of the building has been touched in the $25 million restoration.
St. Bernard 9
A restored stained glass windows illuminates the choir loft of the future Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The loft had been in disrepair but has been expanded to hold musicians, a baby grand piano and a pipe organ.
St-Bernard-06-20251103-129348.jpg
Bryan Albert, a painter with Affiliated Artists of Milwaukee, works on a ceiling inside the future Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Madison, Wis. Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
St-Bernard-07-20251103-129218.jpg
New murals, paint accents and restored stained glass windows adorn the sanctuary of the future Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Madison, Wis. Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
St. Bernard 8
Italian marble and terrazzo tile fill the floor of the sanctuary at St. Bernard Catholic Church.
St-Bernard-09-20251103-129638.jpg
A wood cross crafted by Paul Lang, the project manager for the future Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux rests on architectural plans for the project in Madison, Wis. Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
St-Bernard-10-20251103-129080.jpg
New murals share walls inside the future Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Madison, Wis. Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
St. Bernard 6
Resin statues of the 12 Apostles await installation in the what will be the altar for the Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Madison. The statues were made in Peru.
St-Bernard-12-20251103-129600.jpg
Paul Lang, project manager for the future Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Madison, Wis. views a sanctuary reredos he is constructing for the project inside a workshop adjacent to the church Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
St-Bernard-13-20251103-129127.jpg
Hand-inscribed prayers by Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux project manager are seen on interior woodwork of a sanctuary installation he is crafting for the church in Madison, Wis. Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
St-Bernard-14-20251103-129483.jpg
An assemblage of church bells await installation into the bell tower of the future Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Madison, Wis. Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. Pictured is Paul Lang, project manager for the restoration of the church. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
St. Bernard 5
What will soon be the Cathedral of St. Bernard Clairvaux is undergoing a transformation along Atwood Avenue. The consecration is planned for sometime in February.
Bells-of-St-Bernards-01-20251105-131102.jpg
An assembly of church bells are lowered into the belfry of the Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Madison, Wis. Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. The project is part of an extensive ongoing restoration of the building which will serve as a cathedral for the Catholic Diocese of Madison. Three of the bells are from the original bell tower, and two others were salvaged from the steeple of the former St. Raphael’s Church, which was destroyed by fire in 2005. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Bells-of-St-Bernards-02-20251105-130932.jpg
Spectators watch as an assembly of church bells are lifted toward the belfry of the Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Madison, Wis. Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. The project is part of an extensive ongoing restoration of the building which will serve as a cathedral for the Catholic Diocese of Madison. Three of the bells are from the original bell tower, and two others were salvaged from the steeple of the former St. Raphael’s Church, which was destroyed by fire in 2005. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
