As Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna celebrates its centennial, an ambitious project of repairing and replacing the copper roof is underway. See the tremendous effort that facilities director Yordan Kovatchki puts into maintaining the sacred wonder from places most people don't even know exist.

The intricate dome high above Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

The view from inside the dome of Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna.

Yordan Kovatchki, director of facilities and plant engineering at OLV, climbs the ladder to the uppermost level inside the dome, in which a steel skeleton holds up the interior dome from above, within a separate steel frame holding up the exterior dome high above Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

Yordan Kovatchki, director of facilities and plant engineering at OLV, unlocks the access door to the tower inside Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

Yordan Kovatchki, director of facilities and plant engineering at OLV, climbs down the ladder in the east tower of Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

An elaborate skeleton of steel supports the arched plaster roof over the sanctuary inside Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

Now replaced in function by a computer, the original clock and chime mechanism remains inside the tower of Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

Yordan Kovatchki, director of facilities and plant engineering at OLV, stops at the foot of a walkway used to change the lightbulbs above the sanctuary deep inside a crawlspace above Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

Yordan Kovatchki, director of facilities and plant engineering at OLV, climbs up the ladder to a catwalk behind the dome above Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

A crawlspace is filled by the dual steel skeletons supporting the roof and ceiling above the sanctuary deep inside Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

Yordan Kovatchki, director of facilities and plant engineering at OLV, looks for signs of leaks and water damage in the crawlspace above the dome at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

Corrosion is evidence of a leak, marked in chalk so it can be repaired, deep inside Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

Yordan Kovatchki, director of facilities and plant engineering at OLV, carefully steps along the walkway inside a catwalk behind the dome above Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

The back of the canvas holding the murals is visible at a joint where the plaster mesh is tied to the dome frame behind the dome of Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

The view from inside the dome of Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

Yordan Kovatchki, director of facilities and plant engineering at OLV, inspects the status of lights from a catwalk above the sanctuary at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

Yordan Kovatchki, director of facilities and plant engineering at OLV, climbs the ladder to access the upper levels inside the dome high above Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

Yordan Kovatchki, director of facilities and plant engineering at OLV, climbs up a ladder through a door to access the upper levels of the dome interior at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

A steel skeleton holds up the interior dome from above, inside another steel frame holding up the exterior dome high above Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

A steel skeleton holds up the interior dome from above, inside another steel frame holding up the exterior dome high above Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

Mark, a worker from Weaver Metals charged with maintaining the gutters, carefully steps across the walkway to access the dome roof from inside Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

A steel skeleton holds up the interior dome from above, inside another steel frame holding up the exterior dome high above Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

A view from an access door in the roof of the dome high above Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

The view of the Buffalo skyline behind the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens from the lower roof of Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

A view of Ridge Road as it leads over the train tracks toward the former Bethlehem Steel plant that still looms large in the view from atop Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

The surrounding neighborhood off South Park is framed by a column at the base of the dome atop Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

Roofers inspect and patch the copper roof atop Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

Roofers inspect and patch the copper roof atop Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022.

Shiny new copper roofing covers a portion of the roof at the Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, which is beginning a massive replacement of the copper roof in honor of the basilica's centennial, Thursday, July 7, 2022.

A worker walks on scaffolding beneath the dome atop Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, which is beginning a massive replacement of the copper roof in honor of the basilica's centennial, Thursday, July 7, 2022.

Shiny new copper roofing covers a portion of the roof at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, which is beginning a massive replacement of the copper roof in honor of the basilica's centennial, Thursday, July 7, 2022. 

The copper roof, much of which is being replaced as part of the centennial celebrations at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. 

Roofers from Weaver Metals and Roofing install a new copper roof, lower left, on a section of Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna below a statue of a trumpeting angel, Thursday, June 23, 2022.

A peregrine falcon flies past a heralding angel statue high atop Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna, Thursday, June 23, 2022.

I have a front row seat to life in the Queen City. I enjoy exploring our community, sharing unique views, documenting history and bringing stories to life. 1999 News intern. 2000 Boston University graduate. FAA licensed drone pilot.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

"I climbed it. I was thinking of 1920s orphans, in faded uniforms, staring up as fearless workers shaped this place out of the sky," writes Sean Kirst.

A sweeping restoration is underway at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica in Lackawanna. Buffalo News columnist Sean Kirst and Ch…

Experts are hard at work restoring the organ at Our Lady of Victory National Shrine and Basilica. 

One hundred years ago this month, Father Nelson Baker embarked on his most ambitious project, a religious shrine to rival the greatest churche…

Shortly after a fire severely damaged St. Patrick’s Church in Lackawanna, Father Nelson Baker dreamed of replacing it with a grander building dedicated to Our Lady of Victory. The Basilica construction began in 1921 and was finished by Christmas of 1925. Take a look inside one of Western New York’s most beautiful

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.