MODESTO  — St. Stanislaus Catholic Church has made a memorable mark on the Modesto landscape with an $18 million construction project that now affords the congregation the luxury of attending services in a church rather than the nearby school gym.

St. Stanislaus was founded as a parish in 1881, and the church prior to the renovation was completed in 1913 and held 388 people, a space much too small for St. Stanislaus’ vast congregation. The new building, located at 1200 Maze Blvd. in Modesto, holds 1,326 people and emblemizes the Catholic faith in its architecture.

“You cannot build a Catholic church without incorporating Catholic values into the fabric of the building. From the way you walk into St. Stanislaus that is evident. From the cruciform shape of the building to way you’re greeted with the baptismal font, everything is a reminder of the Catholic faith,” said Joan O’Neil-Chiesa, a member of the construction committee.

O’Neil-Chiesa said that the church is Romanesque with Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese influences. The inside is reminiscent of a Cistercian abbey. Construction on the church began in September 2006, and was completed in November 2008. The church remodel, which included adapting roadways and landscape design as well, is only the first step towards the property reconstruction. The next step for St. Stanislaus is the community center that will house social areas, child care, administrative offices, and meeting rooms.

St. Stanislaus held an extensive interview process for the project submitting their information and price requests on a national scale. The church ultimately settled on two San Diego companies for their contractor and architect. The St. Stanislaus selection committee unanimously chose T.B. Penick and Sons of San Diego as general contractor since they offered the best price. The company subcontracted 85 percent of their work to local companies and managed a less than 2 percent change order on the large project.

 The church chose Shelly Hyndman of Hyndman & Hyndman in Cardiff as the architect. Hyndman conducted interviews with church members and officials in order to gather a sense of the congregation and needs of the community before submitting her plans for the building.

“Shelly is an extraordinary talent. She listened to us instead of imposing her ideas onto the project, and that really came through,” said O’Neil-Chiesa.

According to O’Neil-Chiesa, the congregation absolutely loves the new facility.

“It  truly reflects who we are as a community,” she added.