August 19, 2025 // Bishop

St. Gaspar del Bufalo Breaks Ground on New Renovations

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

On Wednesday, August 6, St. Gaspar del Bufalo Church in Rome City officially broke ground on a series of expansive renovations. The parish plans to enlarge both the church’s narthex and its parish hall, with construction scheduled to take between 8-10 months.

Bishop Rhoades joined the St. Gaspar community for the groundbreaking, celebrating Mass beforehand on the feast of the Transfiguration.

“We can savor mountaintop experiences we have in our lives, including sometimes in our prayer lives,” Bishop Rhoades said. “But that is not always the case. Following Jesus, the way to glory, must always pass by the way of the cross. … We live with hope that one day our destiny will be joined to Jesus’ destiny, that we will be transfigured with divine glory.”

Deacon Ray Krouse, who serves at St. Gaspar, told Today’s Catholic about the plans for expansion,

“There are two main renovations going on. One is enlarging the narthex with two bathrooms and just more space,” Deacon Krouse said. “We have a lot of lake people come up in the summer, so we do need this space. It will [give us more room for] baptisms. We will also add confessionals into that area as well.”

Deacon Krouse added: “The second part is expanding the parish hall with a dividing wall that we can open and close. On holidays like Labor Day, Fourth of July, and Memorial Day, there are a lot of people, and we need a larger hall. But during the winter, there are fewer of us. We can open and close that dividing wall, depending on the time of year.”

Deacon Krouse noted that the community came together to raise money to fund the projects.

“It was, in a way, magical,” Deacon Krouse said. “People want the church to grow. Some of the parishioners were children when the parish was built, so seeing these renovations is special.”

Father Louis Fowoyo, pastor at St. Gaspar, told Today’s Catholic: “We are so looking forward to having a confessional in the church. This is the most important thing,” he said.

“Since we are in the Jubilee Year of Hope, we are hoping Rome City will grow in the near future.”

Father Fowoyo added that many in the St. Gaspar community have been parishioners for decades.

“They’ve lived in this parish and have been happy and are still happy today. It is a thing of joy,” Father Fowoyo said. “Not many people can be in the same spot for 80 years, seeing the growth.”

Elena Lock, a young adult parishioner, told Today’s Catholic that she has seen the need for more space during her five years in the community.

“We definitely need the renovation for more space, especially in the narthex,” she said.

Lock noted that “it was really cool” to have Bishop Rhoades celebrate Mass on the feast of the Transfiguration, because “he had come a few years prior on that same feast to dedicate the altar for the Oratory for the Holy Family,” she explained.

“For him to come is amazing, because St. Gasper is such a tiny parish,” Lock said. “For him to take time out of his schedule to join not only for the groundbreaking but even a special Mass before it was special,” Lock said.

She added: “I’m sure it meant a lot to Father Louis and everyone who has been waiting many, many years for this project to actually come to fruition.”

Clare Hildebrandt is a staff writer for Today’s Catholic.