Dear Friends of Our Lady of Pompeii,
Yesterday, our team submitted plans to the City of Jacksonville for permitting. This is the culmination of hundreds of man-hours of hard work. This master file touches on everything from utility work, stormwater, fire hazard precaution, traffic engineering, to landscape and more. If you've ever been a part of a construction project, you know that I cannot overstate the importance of this milestone. We have friends in position to help expedite the process, so I look forward to giving you favorable updates in March.
Following the success of last month’s interview-style newsletter, I wanted to give our readers an opportunity to get to know our architect. Without further ado, allow me to introduce...
Fr. Thomas: Jeff Lane, the man responsible for putting down on paper what is in my head, great to be with you today. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Jeff Lane: I grew up in Northern Illinois and moved here in 1987. My wonderful wife and I have three beautiful daughters. I started my own practice in 2001 located in the 5 Points area where we renovated a 100 year old house to serve as our office. I am a member of Riverside Presbyterian Church, which is just across the duckpond. My spare time was on the tennis courts until I recently ran into the reality that my body is not as young and I would like…
FT: Yes, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Wow, you’ve lived in Jacksonville for almost 4 decades now. I was talking to our friends at Auld and White about how much Jacksonville has grown. Have you worked with Buck in the past?
JL: Yes, on several projects. The largest is when Buck and I worked together on the new clubhouse for Sawgrass Country Club. This was a $20 million project that took several years. He and his team have always been great to work with.
FT: Yes, your specialty in beautiful common areas is what led us to you. For our readers, I’ve seen the full spectrum of your work, from a steampunk GastroPub in Riverside to the Old-World charm of Ponce Hall at Flagler College. Jeff, how would you describe the role of an architect?
JL: All projects are initially conceived by the client. My job is to take their vision and make it become real. The style of the buildings is typically derived from the expectations of the client. When studying architecture at the University of Kentucky, I especially enjoyed the architecture of Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe (a German architect that moved here to escape Nazi Germany) and Frank Lloyd Wright.
FT: Mies Van Der Rohe coined the phrase “less is more,” right? Sometimes, you have to let buildings speak for themselves. What are your thoughts on Our Lady of Pompeii?
JL: I am not Catholic so I have been trying to catch up on the terms, traditions and rituals. Buildings typically represent the times in which they are built so it is interesting to compare this church today versus 100 years ago when it was built. But of all the renovations we have worked on, this is by far the most beautiful. It is a great honor to be a part of your team.
FT: What a compliment! You could say this church was made for our ceremonies which haven’t changed much in 100 or even 1,000 years. What has changed is our need for a classrooms and a place to congregate after Mass. Can you talk to us about your approach in designing the look for our future parish hall?
JL: I was told once that there are two types of buildings; foreground and background buildings. The foreground buildings are ones that need to stand out and command a presence on a site. The background buildings are to reference the foreground buildings and play a secondary role to the overall composition of a site while not try to compete with the main building. I think the future church hall does that. It compliments and respects the church.
FT: Again, less is more. When taking on this project, what were some of the pain points you knew going into a century old building?
JL: It is interesting that we are also helping Flagler College restore and renovate their Ponce Hall – the original hotel that Henry Flagler built in St. Augustine. Both projects have the same issue of trying to insert today’s air conditioning and electrical systems into a frame that has no room whatsoever for these elements. We are always learning on every project and this is true for both of these projects.
FT: My predecessors were saints for bearing the heat, and my successors will thank you for finding a way. Is there anything else you’d like to state for the record?
JL: I want to mention that we have an excellent team of engineers helping with the site, landscaping, structural, air conditioning, electrical and plumbing systems. I have worked with many of them for over 20 years. Also, my team includes our own interior designer, Sumner Coddington. Sumner is my daughter and a graduate of the FSU interior design department.
FT: A proud father, and the team behind you has my gratitude for all the hard work done for Our Lady of Pompeii. Thank you, Jeff.
More good news as we head into Lent. I was very pleased to announce the children have offered 5,897 Rosaries in our Crusade thus far. These prayers fuel the fire and keep us going. The adults can play their parts, too!
Keep saying your Memorares,
Fr. Thomas
This week’s mailbag is international. Due to the delay in Italian mail and the time of month this newsletter goes out, it seems a little dated, but the Lord works outside of time. We have none other than our chapel’s vocation, Sr. Maria Raffaella, who bears gifts.
Dear Father, Friends, & Faithful of St. Michaels,
Merry Christmas! I hope that this letter finds you all in good spirits and filled with many graces! In September the Novitiate went on a beautiful pilgrimage to Our Lady of Pompeii as a birthday gift to one of our superiors (who is from Napoli). We took three days to visit and venerate:
The remains of St. Thomas the Apostle
The body of Padre Pio
The cave of St. Michael the Archangel (where he left footprints!)
The remains of Blessed Bartolo Longo
The miraculous image of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii
I had everyone one of you in my thoughts and prayers and offered up your hearts and intentions in each holy place Our Lord brought me to. But from the beginning I had it in my heart to share the graces of this trip with you both physically and spiritually. So I brought with me everywhere papers to touch to these holy places so you can have 3rd Class relics for yourselves! With more talent and more time, I would have drawn something beautiful on them for you all. But I suppose God would like us to exercise our faith a little to see the beauty of His grace on these blank papers. :)
God Bless! Merry Christmas!
Please pray for my perseverance!
~Sr. Maria Raffaella of Divine Providence
If you would like us to mail you the third class relic, please email me your name and address to info@pompeiirising.org. If you attend Mass at St. Michael's in Jacksonville, I will have Fr. Leith provide the relics this weekend. Also, thanks to Regina Pilgrimages, this April, I will be the chaplain for a pilgrimage visiting many of the same sites listed above. Sister is giving me a wonderful idea. In next month’s newsletter, we’ll have a way for you to write down your intentions so that I can bring them with me and lay them at the feet of Our Lady in Pompeii.
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