St. Stephen Catholic Church, New Orleans, LA

In preparing for its first major restoration in 130 years, the pastor of St. Stephen approached Rambusch to develop a lighting system to fully illuminate the the interior of this beautiful German Gothic style church.
During an initial visit with the Pastor, Rev. Msgr. Christopher Nalty, we listened to the scope of the project and discussed the role lighting could play. The church had never been adequately lluminated. Rambusch developed a lighting solution that would not only enhance its beauty, but more importantly, one that would accommodate all the needs of the Parish.

The resulting system adapts to the varied uses of the space, be it Daily Mass, Sunday Mass, weddings, concerts, or other liturgies. The multiple preset scenes, which are easily accessible via a dimming program, allow all members of the staff to make easy lighting adjustments according to the various uses of the church.

The all-LED solution, manufactured in Rambusch’s workshops, was developed around new decorative lanterns and sconces, adding decorative glow to the sanctuary. These new fixtures conceal their engineered elements, whose purpose is to deliver both uplight (to illuminate the glorious ceiling) and downlighting (to facilitate reading in the pews). The three elements of this lighting system — decorative, uplight and downlight — are supplemented with accent lighting for liturgical emphasis (provided by others).
The overall effect allows congregants and visitors to appreciate the beauty of the church’s architecture and artwork, hiding in the shadows for years.