Waterloo Catholic church ‘steps up’ to renovation

WATERLOO | Queen of Peace Catholic Church, quite literally, unwrapped a Christmas present for its parishioners this past week in the first "steps" of an anticipated major renovation.

Most of the front of Waterloo's oldest Catholic church had been covered in plastic for a few weeks in December. Work crews are refinishing and renovating the church steps and reducing the size of adjacent planters.

The steps have been repainted over the years, making them slippery to navigate, particularly in inclement weather.

The current project, Queen of Peace parish council chairman Craig White said, has some traction to it.

"We're putting on a rougher coating to make them less slippery, and changing their color from gray to beige, to match the color of the church, which looks very nice," said White, also a Black Hawk County supervisor.

The planters are being reduced, re-bricked and lowered to ground level, White said.

That work was completed in time for Christmas services at the church.

Also, an elevator to accommodate persons with disabilities has been repaired, said the Rev. Dave Ambrosy, Queen of Peace pastor.

The steps and other work accomplished to date is the first part of what is anticipated to be the most extensive renovation of the church since an interior remodeling in 1996.

It involves work on flooring, carpeting, pews and a handicap-accessible approach to the altar sanctuary, Ambrosy and White said.

The rest is here:
Waterloo Catholic church 'steps up' to renovation