St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church will open its doors for tours Saturdays through May to give residents an opportunity to see the new building.
The short, guided tours, which are open to the public, are set for 1 p.m. every Saturday in March, April and May, except for April 4 during Holy Week. Tours, which will last about 45 minutes, will meet near the fountain in the front garden of the church at 138 Fairfield St., between Richland and Park avenues. Access for visitors with physical disabilities is on the south side of the church off Sea Lane.
Parishioner Ann Grant organized the tours after many of her Protestant friends said they wanted to see the new church, which was dedicated Feb. 2.
"I thought, well, why not have some tours," said Grant, who conducted the first tour March 7 for about 20 guests. "Some of our parishioners also wanted to learn more about the church and some of the symbolism that was put into the building.
"We want to welcome everybody to share in our wonderful blessing that we have this new building to worship in."
A 135-year-old, life-size, bronze sculpture titled "Virgin and Child" will be one of the tour's highlights, Grant said. Gustave Doré, a prolific 19th-century French artist who also did illustrations and engravings, created the work and entered it in the world competition of sculpture in Paris in 1880, winning third place.
Mrs. Harry La Montagne, née Beatrice Kinney, a winter resident of Aiken, gave then-pastor Monsignor George Lewis Smith the statue in 1947 for the former church on the southwest corner of Park Avenue. Her father bought the statue in Europe and brought it to America as a gift to her mother.
"We've brought the statue to the new church," Grant said. "We're very fortunate to have it."
The new church also features sculptures of St. Peter and St. Paul around the sanctuary.
"A lot of people ask why they are there with our church being named St. Mary, but our parish, which was established in 1853, was started on the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul," Grant said. "It's a very nice way to tie our history to our new building."
Grant said the parish outgrew the church on Park Avenue more than a decade ago, and for many years, worship services were held in a gym.
"We've been waiting for the new church a long time, and it is beautiful," Grant said. "You can imagine our joy to have a real place of worship to go to and pray."
A native of Aiken, Larry Wood is a general assignment reporter.