FALL RIVER — Like its home diocese, the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption is weathered but still standing. 

 

And it’s being held together largely through efforts by the Catholic faithful. 

 

The granite edifice has stood at Second and Summer streets for nearly 170 years, the mother church of the diocese, and in recent years has been undergoing extensive renovations. Though the building is a relic of a more splendid past, time has not been kind to it.  

 

The annual Lumen Christi gala, scheduled for Tuesday at White’s of Westport, aims to raise funds for the building’s repair and maintenance.

 

“The parish is the people, not the structure,” said parishioner and historian Richard Grace. “But it is a beautiful church in a historic style. It’s part of Fall River’s cultural history as an architectural piece and deserves to be preserved — and that’s what this campaign is all about.” 

 

Rad more from Dan Medeiros at heraldnews.com.