Old-world business elevates church splendor through five generations

When John E. Rigali came to the United States as a 16-year-old in 1881, he could not have imagined all the ecclesiastical beauty that would emanate from this decision. The prodigious sculptor did intend to bring his artwork to churches in North America, but who could have guessed this would include running a business that would expand into every aspect of interior church design, receiving an award from Pope Saint Pius X, and going strong 140 years later?

Yet this is exactly what did happen. John E. Rigali, identified as the maestro of his art school in Florence, Italy, joined the Daprato brothers at Daprato Statuary Company in Chicago, became a partner only three years later in 1884, and president in 1890. By 1909, the company had been awarded the title of Pontifical Institute of Christian Art by Pope Saint Pius X. The pontiff who made it a hallmark of his papacy to “restore all things in Christ” saw fit to give such a title to a company that restores churches for the sake of the Savior.

By the 1920s, things were going so well for the Daprato Statuary Company that new offices were opened in Montreal and New York—and even one back in Italy. By the 1960s, however, interest in sacred art had diminished to the point that those additional offices needed to be closed and the Chicago office was pared down to only two people. The company that had once claimed well over 200 employees, was now comprised of the owner, Robert Rigali (the grandson of John E. Rigali) and two employees: his own wife Therese and noted stone mason Lucherino Lucherini.

Traditional church furnishings, such as marble high altars in sanctuaries enclosed by matching altar rails and stained-glass windows depicting human forms, became undesirable in the minds of the “experts.” Wooden tables without any surrounding indication of holiness, along with earth-toned glass depicting nothing in particular, became quite popular.

Churches that had once been the summit of Western architecture began to resemble barns, gyms, and washing machine agitators— and this, despite the Church officially directing bishops at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) to carefully avoid what was starting to take place under their watch.

“Those were tough times for our Church and for our family business,” said Mike Rigali, the son of Robert Rigali, who changed the company named to Daprato Rigali Studios in 1960. Although only a small child in the ‘60s, Mike was later told of how employees were released to form their own specialty businesses. Sculptors, glaziers, carpenters, bronze workers, and so forth would be contracted when Daprato Rigali secured a rare project that called for their specific services.

The 1960s were disheartening times for Daprato Rigali, not only because new projects did not come around often, but because their very own artwork was often whitewashed, obscured, removed, or even destroyed, in an effort to have a more “modern” or “openminded” worship environment.

Opening the door to new opportunities

As Mike Rigali grew up, so did his understanding of what was going on in the Church—especially in sacred art. Although still in tough times, the ‘70s actually saw the gradual increase of employees at Daprato Rigali. “It went from one employee in the ‘60s, to five in the ‘70s, to ten in the ‘80s,” said Mike. It was a slow but sure revival of a once-dying business.

Mike graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1983 with a degree in American studies. “It had an emphasis on American architecture, so I basically studied architecture without officially becoming an architect,” he explained. However, he did officially become part of the growing family business after graduating.

By the early 1990s, Mike, his two older brothers John and Bob, and his younger sister, Lisa, were the team running Daprato Rigali Studios. As their father Robert was exiting the business he had kept alive and slowly growing, the four-person fourth generation was poised to usher in a new Renaissance in sacred art.

In 1992, the Second Vatican Council’s endorsement of liturgical beauty was echoed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This time around, the faithful and their pastors heeded the call to recognize, especially the intimate relationship between beauty and truth—that sacred art is not merely a matter of personal preference, but of eternal significance (see Catechism paragraphs 2500 to 2513).

One of the hallmarks of this new Renaissance in sacred art was a distinctive sanctuary. A colorful example was found with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. The Ann Arbor-based community was looking for the right altar backdrop (called a reredos) in their motherhouse chapel.

Mike Rigali fondly recalled the project, completed in 2006, as did Mother Assumpta Long, O.P., co-foundress of the new community established through the help of Tom Monaghan. Mother Assumpta explained: “When our new Community was completing our Motherhouse Chapel, we were blessed by some wonderful benefactors with an over-100-year-old reredos from Spain.” The only problem was, the reredos, with so many pieces of intricate wood overlaid with gold leaf, had suffered a good deal of damage.

The Dominican Sisters needed trustworthy hands to reassemble and repair the ornamental structure meant to house the tabernacle and, in Mother Assumpta’s words, a “whole assemblage of celestial beauty.” They found those hands through the Rigali family.

Mother Assumpta summed up the experience this way: “Not only did they treat every piece of the reredos with reverence, they seemed to enjoy the elegance of this amazing work of worship and of art—and we enjoyed their careful work as well!”

This was something made possible by the influence of Mike’s father, Robert. “My dad always emphasized quality, quality, quality in church decoration and restoration,” Mike remembered, saying “that meant doing the big things well, but also the little things.” One example that quickly came to Mike’s mind involved shadowing his father around church projects in the 1980s. The pastor of a church, who had experience with three different studios, was delighted to see that Daprato Rigali had gone the extra mile.

The pastor pointed specifically to a plank of wood found inside a small door near the pipe organ in the choir loft. While almost no one would ever see that wood, Daprato Rigali artists had painted it to match the rest of the color scheme, since it was, after all, part of the interior of the church.

Back to the future

In recent years, Daprato Rigali, thanks to its nearly 40 employees, has compiled one of the most impressive portfolios of church renovations in the country. Among their most notable recent projects in Chicago are Saint Hedwig Church, done in the ornate “Polish Cathedral Style” and Saint Alphonsus Church, whose celestial ceilings have gained attention even from secular sources.

Beyond Chicago, top recent projects include the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois, the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, and Saint Boniface Church in San Francisco.

A key component of all these projects is awareness and respect for the church building. Mike said that “our artists know that they are working in, not just a shell structure, but a sacred place that people come to for prayer, so we try to keep it as serene as possible. That includes daily cleanups that ‘minimize our dust’ and keep the projects moving forward.”

Because the fourth-generation Rigalis want to beautify churches indefinitely, they are pleased to have Dan Rigali back in their midst. At 35, he is the oldest of Mike’s four sons and the first of his generation to take an active leadership role in the business as a project manager.

“I had worked with my family intermittently in high school by helping out on various projects, but, after graduating with a construction management degree from the University of Denver, worked elsewhere for a few years. I’ve been back for about seven years now and I’m completely dedicated to keeping the family business growing,” Dan stated.

Not many people can say they work for a company that has endured 161 years—including the last 140 specifically with family members in it. This longevity is also reflected in maximizing worker retention. Daprato Rigali has a decorative painter who has been with them for 40 years, while another has been with them for 37 years.

Although the tenures of Dan’s cousins are shorter, Taylor Rigali, Audrey Galvin, and Tommy Galvin have also been part of the family business recognized by Pope Saint Pius X and, more recently, by Loyola University in Chicago. The school’s 2019 Illinois Small Family Business of the Year Award was given to Daprato Rigali Studios for their continued efforts to beautify sacred buildings.

Dan said he loves to be part of this sacred family tradition and hopes to help expand their artistic efforts even further. He explained: “All Catholics should be able to enter their parish churches and exclaim, like Jacob in Genesis 28, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.’”

Although Robert Rigali died in December of 2020 at the age of 88, his noble work of carrying on his father’s and grandfather’s legacy has been passed down to his own children and grandchildren. Restoring all things in Christ is, the Rigalis have found, a timeless ideal.

For more information, visit:  www.dapratorigali.com

TRENT BEATTIE is a Legatus magazine contributing writer.