With daily liturgies celebrated at nearby Sacred Heart Church, Father Peter Harman, Cathedral pastor, and Bill Vogt, parish business manager, join parishioner Dee Nelson on their morning walk between Cathedral and Sacred Heart Church.

Pews were removed Sept. 30 from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield and sent off to be repaired and refinished, as interior work steps up at the recently closed Cathedral. Carpeting in the Cathedral was removed, the day after the leave-taking Mass Sept. 28.

The week of Oct. 6, workers began sealing all entrances to the Cathedral, in order to begin asbestos abatement.

Father Peter Harman, Cathedral pastor, said the first weekend Cathedral Masses celebrated at nearby Sacred Heart Church, at 730 S. 12th St., in St. Katharine Drexel Parish, went well, as did the 5 p.m. Sunday Cathedral Mass celebrated at Blessed Sacrament Church, at Laurel and Walnut.

Weekday Cathedral Masses are celebrated at Sacred Heart Church.

"Our lectors, servers, extraordinary Communion ministers and ushers had practiced a couple weeks ago in these churches, which really helped things move very smoothly," Father Harman said. "They were greeting people outside as they came into Mass, and I think everybody felt at home away from home. We are very grateful for the people of St. Katharine Drexel and Blessed Sacrament for their hospitality in welcoming us during this year."

Pews were removed Sept. 30 from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield and sent to be refinished while the Cathedral is closed for restoration.

Since most of the weekend Masses are at the regularly scheduled times, attendance was fairly good, he said.

"Our choir sounded wonderful at the 11 o'clock Mass. It filled the smaller church space with music. Many people commented to me about how wonderful they sounded," Father Harman said. "It is an indication of what acoustical improvements included in the Cathedral restoration will do."   

Parking was not a problem at either Sacred Heart or Blessed Sacrament. "There are three major lots at Sacred Heart - one behind the church, and two side lots," Bill Vogt, Cathedral business manager, said.

Some Cathedral staff members and parishioners have opted to walk to and from Sacred Heart for daily Mass.

"(Parishioner) Dee Nelson and I walk over every morning to Sacred Heart Church for Mass," says Vogt. "It is about a half mile, and it is a very nice walk. We'll continue to do that until the weather gets bad. It really is a lovely walk."

The only part of the walk that Vogt said he was a little concerned about, before actually making the trek, was going underneath the railroad viaduct on Cook Street between Ninth and Eleventh streets. "But it is very nice. The sidewalk there is very wide, and it is very well lit," Vogt said. "Father Harman says he can walk it in eight minutes. But for us older folk, it takes 12 to 15 minutes. Father Harman walked with us one morning, but I told him, ‘Your pace is a little faster than I like to walk.'"

After Mass on one of the first weekdays, Nelson asked, "Should we wait for Father Harman?" "Nope," said Vogt. "He'll catch up." And he did.