Basilica prepares for Christmas celebration.
LEWISTON – Volunteers pushed the wise men, shepherds and sheep on trolleys. They carried the wreaths and ribbons in boxes. And they hung the one, bright star.
“We do it for the love of God,” said volunteer Fern Fournier, standing beneath the altar of the city’s grandest church, the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, with a heap of electrical cords at his feet.
The volunteers, 20 in all, will spend the week here, preparing for what may become the basilica’s biggest celebration yet.
Attendees of the ritual midnight Mass will be greeted by a brass ensemble, two choirs and the state’s largest church organ. More than 600 people could turn out. Larger-than-normal crowds may also attend the afternoon and early evening services.
On Monday, Business Manager Gil LaPointe answered e-mails from out-of-towners inquiring about the holiday services.
“Last year, they came from all over,” LaPointe said. “We’ll be ready.”
The midnight Mass and the other events will be largely traditional.
At 4 p.m. Saturday, the church plans to hold a Christmas Eve service in French. An English-language Mass will follow two hours later.
At 11:30 p.m., as people enter for the midnight ritual, the choirs will already be singing.
“We try to have a mix of the new and the traditional,” said music director Scott Vaillancourt.
He has learned not to change things too fast.
“Last year, we didn’t have Minuit Cretien,'” said Vaillancourt, who also serves as the church’s organist. The song, a French version of “Oh Holy Night,” had been a staple of the midnight service. People complained.
“It will be back this year, probably sung by Pauline Sabo,” Vaillancourt said.
The music, the decorations and the grand atmosphere aim to inspire awe.
“When it’s all done, it’s incredible,” said Lorette Bilodeau, a longtime volunteer.
On Monday, she led workers as they added ribbons to wreaths and hung them on each column in the cavernous nave.
Fournier worked to untangle the electrical cords for one of the midnight service’s highlights.
At just the right moment, the one star needs to shine.
“A little boy will walk right up here,” Fournier said, waving past the front of the church to the platforms where the nativity scene will be erected. Already, the star hangs above.
“He needs to come up and push a button,” he said. “The star needs to light up all alone.”
When it shines, Fournier will receive all the thanks he needs.
“We all do it for the same thing,” he said. “All of us.”
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