LACEY — When Sam Pellegrino needed a monstrance to use for adoration at the state Knights of Columbus convention earlier this year, he remembered his parish had an antique one.

“I was kind of hoping the old monstrance was somewhere in the sacristy,” said Pellegrino, a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Lacey.

Inside the sacristy’s vault, he found the monstrance, which has been at Sacred Heart since it became a parish 100 years ago, said Ric Ordos, pastoral assistant for administration. 

Several of its spires were bent or loose and someone had apparently tried securing them with glue, said Pellegrino, who is sacristan for the Father Nicholas Rausch OSB Council 1643 that includes Sacred Heart, St. Michael Parish in Olympia, and Saint George Byzantine Catholic Church in Olympia.

He did use it for the convention last May, but he was careful moving it. 

Pellegrino remembers thinking, “We need to do something about getting this monstrance restored.”

After the state convention, the members of Council 1643 unanimously approved restoration work for the monstrance. They tapped fellow Knight Rob Panowicz, retired owner of Panowicz Jewelers in Olympia, to complete the work.

“We were honored to be entrusted with that repair,” said Panowicz, a St. Michael’s parishioner who is a member of the Knights at St. Martin’s University. “We rarely get to work on an heirloom piece.” 

It took a goldsmith about nine hours to take the monstrance apart, clean the pieces and reassemble it, Panowicz said. The restoration was completed free of charge to the Knights. 

“It’s as good as we could possibly make it,” he added.

The Knights of Columbus at Sacred Heart Parish in Lacey teamed up with an Olympia jeweler to restore the parish’s original monstrance. Pictured are:  Rob Panowicz, left, of Panowicz Jewelers; Grand Knight Bob Adams; Father Tim Ilgen, Sacred Heart’s pastor; Sadie Roffler of Panowicz Jewelers; and Knights Sam Pellegrino and Tom Pursley. (Photo courtesy of Ric Ordos).

The monstrance, back home at Sacred Heart, will be used during special occasions such as benedictions, Pellegrino said. The parish has a different monstrance that is used regularly for Eucharistic adoration on Fridays.

Pellegrino said the antique monstrance’s carrying case, made of wood and leather with a satin cloth interior, is also being restored.

Maintaining items like the antique monstrance is important, Panowicz said, because “they’re our heritage.”