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Gathering Space and Parish Offices
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The 1992 church building has been renovated and repurposed to accommodate a variety of needs. This renovated space prominently features a new, octagonal baptismal font. The octagon represents the eighth day of creation, a symbol of new birth. Inscribed on the panels around the font is a quotation from Pope St. Leo the Great on the meaning of baptism. Other amenities included in this renovated space are:
- Narthex
- St. Joseph, Fr. Badin and Fr. Sorin meeting rooms
- Parish library
- Good Shepherd Nursery
- Music and Liturgy Office and storage
- Serving kitchen
- Parish Office reception area
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Holy Cross Chapel (1992 Chapel)
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The chapel original to the 1992 church remains. With the tabernacle removed, the furniture arrangement and liturgical appointments allow for the chapel to continue to be used for small Masses, weddings and funerals.
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Courtyard
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Connecting the renovated space to the new church is a courtyard with two corridors on either side of an exterior atrium.
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The etched windows surrounding the courtyard depict the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
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The Major Prophets, Jeremiah and Daniel, flank the doors leading from the baptistery to the church. Isaiah and Ezekiel will be installed at a future date on the windows flanking the main door into the Church.
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The exterior atrium contains the statue of Mary, Our Lady of Grace, originally located in the courtyard between the former church and the Parish Education Center.On the ground, before reaching the main entry doors leading from the courtyard to the church, is a mosaic of a serpent with the words ipsum conteret caput tuum (“he will crush your head,” Genesis 3:15). Upon entering the church, one can step on this mosaic, symbolizing Christ’s victory over sin and death. Above the entry doors is a tympanum, a decorative stone slab filling the rounded arch and bearing the papal coat of arms of Pope Pius X, the parish’s patron saint.
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The sanctuary platform, the sacred space in the front of the church, is raised to increase visibility to the altar and ambo.
The altar is constructed of white marble and polished Kasota stone. The front of the altar is ornamented with a mosaic depicting the Lamb of God described in the Book of Revelation. Sealed within the marble top of the altar is a first class relic of Pope Saint Pius X. 
The ambo is constructed of the same materials as the altar, allowing for a clear 
visual connection between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The ambo is more than a lectern; it is an altar for the Word of God. The ambo is only used for proclaiming the word of God, making this connection clear.
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The custom-made crucifix is suspended
over the altar, serving both as a focal point as well as drawing attention to the altar below. Unique to this crucifix is the anchor-like design, representing the anchor in the Papal coat of arms of Pius X, as well as the familiar cross and anchors habit worn by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, who founded the parish. At the foot of the cross stand Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the Beloved Disciple, traditionally identified as John (John 19:25-27). Designed specifically for Saint Pius X, the sculptures of the corpus, Mary and the Beloved Disciple were crafted in Germany from hand-carved linden wood.
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The tabernacle is located on a raised platform in the semicircular domed. Angels flank the tabernacle in adoration, echoing the design of the first tabernacle described to Moses by God (Exdous 25:17-22, 1 Kings 8:6-9).
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Bell Tower
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- Our Lady of the Annunciation and Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae (the Angel of the Lord announced unto Mary)
- Saint Gabriel the Archangel and Ave Maria, gratia plena (Hail Mary, full of grace)
- His Holiness Pope Francis and St. Teresa of Calcutta
- Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades and Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C.
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An 84-foot bell tower, located at the north end of the church, houses four cast bronze bells. The bell inscriptions correspond with the traditional naming scheme for bells which includes historical ties to Mary, Gabriel and the Annunciation
–saints important to our parish community and the sitting pope and bishop of our diocese.
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Devotionals
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Supporting the devotional life of the faithful, four shrines and the Stations of the Cross are located throughout the church.
Statues of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph are located on either side of the sanctuary. The stencils above each include the “Ave Maria” interlocking A-M and 12 stars (Mary) and a carpenter’s square and lily (Joseph).
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Statues of St. Pius X, patron saint of the parish, and St. André Bessette, the first saint from the
Congregation of Holy Cross, are located in the niches on either side of the crossing. The Saint Pius X statue was purchased after being removed from Saint Pius X High School in the Diocese of Allentown, while Saint André’s statue was newly sculpted in Germany. Stencils above these two statues are the symbol of the Congregation of Holy Cross (St. André) and papal keys (St. Pius X).
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The Stations of the Cross are mounted on newly fabricated, decorative wood brackets lining the outer walls of the nave and transepts. This antique collection of statues, made in the 1930s out of cast plaster, were purchased after being removed from a closed Catholic church in the Diocese of Scranton.
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Organ
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The organ from the 1992 church was dismantled and reconstructed in its new home in the east transept (below), reusing most of the existing pipes, wind chests, winding and other mechanisms, with only a few modifications to allow it to better integrate into the architecture of the new church.
The pipes donated from the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame were combined with additional new ranks and custom wind chests to build a new organ located in the loft in the back of the church (left). A new console has been added as well.
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Columns
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A medieval Romanesque style was employed in the design of the columns and capitals located both inside and outside of the church. Each side of the cubiform capitals is adorned with a symbol relating to a fundamental doctrine of Christianity. These symbols include the shell (Baptism), the triquetra (Celtic symbol of the Trinity), the Chi Rho (Christ) and the simple Greek cross.
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Candles and Crosses in the Nave and Transepts
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The stenciled crosses and candles in the nave and transepts mark the twelve locations anointed by the bishop with Sacred Chrism during the dedication rite. These candles are only lit on the anniversary of the dedication and on other solemnities. The cross itself, as well as the crosses in the fabric panels in each transept and at the back of the nave, are Eastern in tradition, in deference to St. Pope John Paul II‘s call that the “Church must breath with her two lungs!” and restore balance between the Latin and Eastern traditions of the Church.
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Reconciliation and Calming Rooms
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Four Reconciliation Rooms can be found in the east and west transepts. These rooms are designed to accommodate the Sacrament of Reconciliation either face-to-face with the priest or using the confessional screen. The Reconciliation screen has fleur-de-lis embroidery (a symbol of Mary) to recall the intercession of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy.
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Also located in the east and west transepts are three calming rooms. Furnished with pews for seating and glass windows looking into the church, these rooms are quiet spaces where disruptive children could be removed to briefly while a parent calms them down.
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