PIQUA — A round of severe storms that swept through much of middle America last week also damaged a Piqua landmark.
A cross adorning the iconic steeple at St. Martin’s Church is askew after Hurricane-force winds blasted through the area.
The damage appears to be limited to a small globe on which the cross crests, notes Shelia Lampe, who serves on a church advisory committee looking into repairing the damage.
“Right now, we’re in a holding pattern,” Lampe said Monday.
A drone was used to capture close-up images of the damage, revealing cracks to the support beneath the globe and cross.
With a clearer picture of the damage, the advisory committee has begun reaching out to companies equipped to repair the steeple.
Lampe was leery of giving a cost estimate until hearing from experts. In addition to the cracked support, several shingles also will need to be replaced, either with more shingles, or a metal surface.
“We’d really like to make it maintenance-free,” Lampe said.
Regardless, a fund-raising drive is almost certainly in the offing to pay for repairs.
That’s because the Catholic Diocese — which owns the building — dropped the property insurance for the church after they declared St. Martin’s an oratory instead of a full parish.
If there’s a silver lining, Lampe said she’s already heard from several folks eager to see the steeple fully repaired.
Many indicated a willingness to send in cash, once a proper account has been established.
“It’ll get fixed,” Lampe promised. “We need to make up a plan. Hopefully the dollars will roll in.”
This is the second time in recent memory the cross has been damaged.
Lampe noted the entire portion of the steeple was blown off the roof during a tornado in the 1980s.
