National Trust Grants $500,000 for St. Alphonsus Liguori “Rock” Catholic Church Window Restoration

In February 2025, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preserving Black Churches Fund, supported by the Lilly Foundation, awarded $500,000 to St. Alphonsus Liguori “Rock” Catholic Church to restore 28 historic stained glass windows, ensuring its legacy for future generations.

Contact: Monica Huddleston, Grant Compliance Administrator

     “Let the Light Shine” in The Rock Church – UPDATE 2026        

St. Alphonsus Liguori “Rock” Catholic Church

St. Louis, MO 1/22/26 – The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preserving Black Churches Fund, underwritten by the Lilly Foundation, awarded St. Alphonsus Liguori “Rock” Catholic Church a $500,000 grant in February 2025. After evaluating four companies’ proposals the church selection team chose Willet Stained Glass Studios of Winona, Minnesota to perform the restoration work on 28 of the church’s 120-year-old German-designed and constructed windows. COST: $517,000. 

The work began in September 2025 and is about 60% completed.  Peeling paint on each window’s ornate woodwork has been removed and the surfaces painted. Cracked stained glass is being repaired and restored to its original beauty. Some of the glass has been removed and shipped to Willet’s Minnesota facility for more detailed restoration.  Some of the windows have been completed and the protective acrylic end-to-end covering has been installed, which will be applied to all of the windows in the project to protect them for decades to come. Project completion is expected in March 2026.

One would expect a small army of workers would be needed for such a mammoth job, but not so with this one.  Master artisan Olivier Fournier, who hails from Paris, France and took a few weeks for Christmas to return home, has been the main expert, assisted only by Mark Hice, his helper. With boom equipment, scaffolding and his special tools, they are transforming the Rock Church stained-glass windows. Olivier has been restoring stained-glass windows like the Rock’s for over ten years, having worked similarly in 80 to 90 churches. To learn his craft, he worked along side more experienced artisans and learned by taking apart entire stained-glass windows and putting them back together.

This grant award will assist in preserving St. Alphonsus Liguori “Rock” Catholic Church and will only cover a portion of the stained-glass window restoration project. It is a component of the church Capital Campaign to raise $1.5 million for significant infrastructure repairs and replacements, including tuckpointing, roofing and more.  Anyone wishing to assist in this St. Louis historical preservation endeavor can do so by donating to the ROCK Church Capital Campaign via the QR code below. 

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