The organ was installed in the early 1960s, when the center was built. It was made by the M.P. Moller Organ Co. in Hagerstown, which once was among the world's largest organ makers.
Over the years, the leather covers that opened and closed the pipes wore out, Little said. The deterioration grew worse as time passed.
"People had to learn to play songs that didn't have certain notes in them," Little said.
Eventually, the organ was not used at all.
The center hired the Peragallo Pipe Organ Co. of Paterson, N.J., to overhaul the instrument. The company was founded in 1918 by John Peragallo Sr., and later his son and grandsons joined the business. The Peragallos build six to eight new organs each year and repair many more. They hold maintenance contracts for more than 400 locations, including St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.
Many pieces of the Bon Secours organ could be reused, said Frank Peragallo, co-owner of the company.
"Moller built a fine product," he said. "It was easy for us to rebuild."
Little liked the concept of reviving the organ, a longtime fixture in the chapel.
"We didn't want to throw it out and start over; we wanted to conserve what we were given," Little said.
That approach also reduced the cost from as much as $1 million for a new organ to $300,000 for the refurbishing.
The organ is still powered by an air pump, roughly the size of a washing machine, tucked behind the wall adjacent to the balcony. Once turned on, the air flows continuously, and electronic signals from the console where the organist sits open and close the pipes.
The electronic connections have been changed to digital switches, and the signals run to the pipes through a single thin cord instead of a bundle of hundreds of wires. The digital signals are recordable so a performance can be stored and replayed with no organist.
Not only more striking in appearance, the outer pipes produce a fuller and richer sound, while the hundreds that remain inside are better suited for accompaniment, Peragallo said.
New pipes expanded the repertoire of sounds the organ produces, including flute, oboe and "celeste" pipes that lend an ethereal sound.
After reinstallation, the primary task that remained last week was to hear how the organ sounded. With an instrument made up of 800 pipes, it is not as simple as flipping on the power switch and playing some hymns.
Workers spent most of the week sounding each note and adjusting the tuning. They balanced the volume, focusing first on the pipes that make up sets and then on the sets that make the overall sound
A few more days was worth the wait, Little said.
"We feel it is an important component of what we want to do here in terms of worship," he said. "I like the idea that we are continuing the process that was begun by the sisters, but we've improved upon it."
The event to celebrate the renovations at Bon Secours Spiritual Center starts a 3 p.m. on Thursday and is open to the public. Information: 410-442-1320.
