Renovations

Our Renovated Place of Worship

At St. Michael the Archangel, our recently-renovated worship space is a sight to behold. With Italian marble, beautiful appointments, crisp, clean lines and a welcoming feel, we invite you to visit and take in the beauty that surrounds you.

Within the church, there are many unique features including a hand-carved replica of the Last Supper, which looks out on the congregation from it's place on the face of the altar. The stunning Holy Spirit mosaic, made up of over 10,000 individual tiles, lies just before the sanctuary. And the statue of our patron Saint, now sits in a prominent position above our South alcove.

To learn more about the individual areas of our renovation, please select items below for a full description.

Before Renovation After Renovation

The Sanctuary

The sanctuary is a holy and sacred place, reserved for a specific function and is designed to facilitate our worship of God. All the liturgical furnishings and art within the sanctuary provide both function and beauty for the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

There are many different items within the sanctuary that are crucial to the Mass. The altar, upon which the sacrifice and consecration take place; the tabernacle, the sacred and beautiful home for the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist; the Ambo where the Word is proclaimed; the Crucifix from which our Lord hangs for our sins; and other symbolic items such as the candles and flowers.

Everything in the sanctuary was replaced during renovations, with the exception of the Crucifix, which is now backlit with a bright, new lighting system changing colors based on the season.

The Table of Plenty

The altar in the Catholic Church is the focus of the Mass and is made Holy by the presence of the Eucharist during the ceremony. It is a place of consecration and sacrifice, where God meets each person.

Our altar is made of Italian marble and commands reverence. The front of the altar is adorned with a carved inlay of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. In the upper room, the table used at the Last Supper became the altar. The detail in the carving is well worth a closer look and we invite you to come up and examine it following Mass.

The top of our altar is consecrated and marked with five crosses symbolizing the five wounds of Christ.

"Take this bread and eat of it...."

The hand-carved replica of the Last Supper on the face of the altar is a remarkable work of art. In Leonardo da Vinci's original masterpiece, da Vinci chose a specific moment to recreate - the immediate reaction to Jesus' words "Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." John 13:21.

The apostles react to Christ's words, each according to his own personality, which da Vinci captured perfectly and is portrayed in the hand-carved replica. Philip asks, “Lord, is it I?" Judas defensively backs away knocking over the salt, spilling it, da Vinci's way of conveying bad luck. Thomas holds up his index finger which he will later need to see and touch the scars. Peter pulls his knife from his sheath, which he will us to cut the high priest's servant's ear later this night.

We invite you to approach the altar after Mass and take a close look at The Last Supper. It is truly an amazing work of sacred art.

Tabernacle at St. Michael the Archangel Siesta Key

"I devoutly adore you, hidden deity."

One of the primary and most distinctive fixtures in any Catholic church is the Tabernacle. The Church teaches us the Tabernacle contains the “holy of holies”, Jesus present in the Eucharist. Our Tabernacle, which sits upon its mighty throne directly beneath Jesus on the cross, is as unique as it is beautiful. Its 24-karat gold plating magnifies the entire sanctuary.

Molina Custom Metalworks and Silversmiths, in business, since 1939 created our one-of-kind tabernacle. They have done work for the last four Popes as well as Churches around the world. The outside of the Tabernacle features a Celtic Cross on its door. The richly-colored image is rendered with enamel and fired for durability. Its unique split dome supports a cross and two angels post constant guard on columns standing on either side of the door. Finely detailed ornamentation covers the front of the Renaissance style tabernacle.

On the inside, you will find a medallion displaying the Latin words, ADORO TE DEVOTE LATENS DIETAS, “I devoutly adore you, hidden deity." Eucharistic Hymn, ADORO TE DEVOTE - by St. Thomas Aquinas, was instituted by Pope Urban IV in 1264 as one of only five Eucharistic hymns.

The Evangelist

Our beautifully Italian-crafted Processional Crucifix is gold Leafed with fired blue enamel settings, cast aluminum Corpus and adorned with representations of the four Evangelists. As in traditional Catholic Sanctuary appointments and iconography art, you see the creaturely representations of the four gospel writers as identified throughout the Catholic tradition a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle with halos and wings.

The cross stands high at 92" and sits atop its Cararra marble base. It is a striking work of art and matches the Church appointments perfectly.

The Nave

What we refer to as the Nave is the central part of a church building, intended to accommodate the laity, or the congregation. In traditional Western churches it is rectangular, separated from the chancel - the space around the altar including the choir and the sanctuary - by a step or rail, and from adjacent aisles by pillars.

The Mosaic

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Flooring

In the New Testament, Jesus uses the term "Living Water" two times. First, Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman in John 4:10, saying, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Then, in John 7: 37-39, Jesus once again speaks of living water, saying, “‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

The Living Water depicts the spiritual sustenance and salvation that Jesus Christ offers. The phrase draws upon the life-giving properties of water, symbolizing the spiritual refreshment that comes from accepting Jesus Christ and his teachings.

In our newly-renovated worship space, the gorgeous blue marble flooring symbolizes the Living Water that leads us from the entryway to the altar and surrounds the Sanctuary where Jesus is present in the Eucharist.

The New Fabric

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The Narthex

The entryway or vestibule to the church is referred to as the narthex. This architectural element of the early Christian church is located opposite the church's main altar. The narthex was designed between the third and fourth century for those who were not allowed to enter the main worship area, the nave, but who still wanted to hear the sermon.

The St. Michael the Archangel narthex serves as a vestibule where people gather. The volunteers room is located off of the narthex as well as the public restrooms and general information can be found in this area.