St. Ben’s Seeks Donations for New Chapel Dome

ST. JOSEPH -- The Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict have been collecting donations to renovate the dome of Sacred Heart Chapel in St. Joseph.

The donations were collected as part of Give to the Max Day, a donation drive run by Give MN. Sister Karan Rose is a nun in the Order of St. Benedict.

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She says the dome is an important part of the look of St. Joe.

I think the dome is a landmark for many people in the area.

The current dome was built with the original church in 1914.

There is space between the inner plaster part of the dome and the outer copper part. In the winter, water in the air condenses on the cold outer dome and falls on the inner dome, which can cause water damage.

And so it is as if it is always raining within that space in the dome, and that has caused a number of problems.

The renovation would fix that problem, and make the building more efficient to heat. It is expected to cost more than $200,000 dollars.

They are hoping to start construction this summer.