For the past 175 years, St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows has served as a home for the Catholic faithful in downtown Nashville. Thousands across Tennessee, along with visitors both near and far, have worshiped in our historic church and found comfort in our sacred tradition. However, after nearly two centuries of service, St. Mary’s is ready for a renewal. Our leadership, after many months of thoughtful planning, is excited to announce the Renewing the Tradition: A Campaign to Restore Historic St. Mary’s in the Heart of Nashville capital campaign.
This campaign will focus on addressing both urgent and long-term needs to protect the historic character of our church and to preserve the sacred atmosphere that we have long enjoyed. While this campaign will serve to renew our physical building, it also provides us with the opportunity to preserve our legacy of faith for the next generation and beyond.
Our Heavenly Father has blessed each one of us with unique and bountiful gifts. This moment in our history is a call to use those gifts to further the mission of Jesus Christ in our local community. God calls us to continue building upon our history of generosity as we acknowledge Him as the source of every blessing.
Whether you are a regular parishioner of St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows, a visitor to our dear church, or just someone for whom St. Mary’s holds a place in your heart, I ask that you consider a gift of support to our campaign to preserve our building for the future.
May your gift be a fitting response to God’s many blessings in your life. Thank you in advance for your response and your generosity.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Jayd Neely
Pastor
The list of needed repairs for St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows is long, and we know that we cannot address everything at once with the limited resources available. Our goal through the Renewing the Tradition campaign is to provide immediate funding for repairs and protect the building from additional damage in the future.
While the full list of repairs needed will cost more than $9 million, we believe that the most urgent needs can be addressed through our plan below, as well as some additional projects to beautify the building:
Priority 1 - Make Necessary Repairs and Restorations to Our Building | $500,000
Our roof and bell tower were the most critical concerns, but we recently completed major roof repairs that have stopped the leaks. We will monitor the roof and tower annually to address any future leaks and to ensure that the structures remain sound. We are turning our focus to other urgent projects, including:
Priority 2 – Additional Improvements| $500,000
Once the most urgent projects have been funded, we will turn our attention to several projects that address damage from past leaks, improve the aesthetics and function, and head off potential future safety risks. We will:
Priority 3 – Ensure Future Needs are Met | $500,000+
All additional funds raised above $1 million will be placed into a “St. Mary Legacy Fund” to ensure future repairs and improvements are able to be made. This fund is restricted to building repairs and improvements to preservethe legacy of St. Mary of the Seven Sorrows.
For more information, click here to read the Planning Study Results.