On September 20 2015, as the congregation celebrates mass inside the restored, 433-year-old St John the Baptist Church in Thane, it will mark a red letter day in local heritage conservation. More importantly, it will be a labour of love fructified for the church’s 10,000-odd parishioners, who for the past year-and-a-half have waited for this day.

The main altar made of wood had been gilded, cleaned and polished. Very little restoration was needed for this centrepiece of the 432-year-old church. Marble was added later, in the 1960s. The wooden coffered ceiling was all painted, poorly repaired and one could not gauge the materials that were used. The joints had opened in some places, and had rotted. A painstaking process of removing the paint and repairing the joinery followed. The lower three rows on both sides of the sanctuary are in wood panels. The higher rows are in MS plates, which would have replaced the original wooden panels during previous repairs. Pics/Sharad Vegda