St. Kateri Tekakwitha: Ridgway Illinois

Construction was completed in 2016 on a new church building for St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church in Ridgway, Illinois. The new building is a Gothic-inspired design similar to but not derived from the original St. Joseph's Church a 100 year old brick Gothic-style church that was destroyed by a tornado on February 29, 2012. 

The church seats 425 people in a traditional nave focused on the original Carrara marble altar that sat in St Joseph's. The 95 foot high bell tower houses the original peal of bells that was housed in St. Joseph's tower and is capped by a 60 high steeple. The steeple is visible for miles around as it is the tallest object in town.

The material of the exterior is limestone quarried nearby in Missouri from the Wisconsin limestone formation a great range of stone that stretches from the source to the mouth of the Mississippi River. The steel frame is designed to resist shaking from the New Madrid Fault which is nearby in Cairo, Illinois and the wind from a major tornado.

The Reverend Steven Beatty is the Pastor of the parish.