Carlos Nunes described the bronze and copper lamppost as "insanely heavy."

But its weight didn't stop someone from ripping it from its base at the entrance to Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria on Sept. 10 and hauling it away, likely to sell for scrap.

"When it came down, the weight of it was so substantial that it actually cracked the sidewalk. That's how heavy it is," said Nunes, the general contractor from FPDR Ltd., a company based in the Toronto area that specializes in restoring historic churches and buildings.

The theft marked the start of more than a week of disturbances plaguing the $1.2-million restoration of the 175-year-old cathedral at the corner of Church and Lyman streets, across the road from the Niagara Regional Police office.

In the days since, Nunes said his employees have had to deal with almost daily problems of people breaking into the cathedral's bell tower, stealing tools, smashing windows and throwing sections of scaffolding down to the road below.

"It has been two weeks of this," he said, adding he has called police several times to report ongoing disturbances, vandalism and thefts.

Police were again called Tuesday morning, after workers arrived to find someone had stolen copper flashing that was being installed on the building's façade.

"Overnight, we had 50 per cent of our copper stolen," Nunes said, after speaking to police officers. "They've gone up the scaffold overnight and they've ripped off all the copper."

Some of the copper, he added, had been crafted into elaborate artwork to beautify the historic cathedral, such as an intricate scupper used to drain water from the roof.

"Whatever they weren't able to rip out, they bent," he said.

The stolen building material wasn't the only disturbance that confronted workers after they arrived Tuesday morning.

Blood-soaked gauze pads were still lying on the sidewalk after paramedics had used them to treat the victim of an assault that occurred among guests at a food program held for people in need at the church.

Police spokesman Const. Phil Gavin said a 56-year-old St. Catharines man sustained "serious injuries" and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

He said Sean Michael Sorrell, 45, of St. Catharines, was arrested at the scene and charged with aggravated assault.

Nunes said some of his 10 employees working on the project have faced violence, too.

He said workers found a man who had been sleeping in the church attic on Wednesday, Sept. 11. He said the man appeared to be heavily intoxicated and suicidal, and brandished a knife at the workers as they tried to stop him from jumping off a balcony.

"We got into a fight with this guy," Nunes said. "It took five of us to hold him down."

Although Gavin confirmed police ticketed a homeless man for trespassing at the cathedral that day, no further details were immediately available.

He said police are continuing to investigate the theft of the lamppost.

"These are rather large and unique. We would appeal to local scrap metal recyclers to be on the lookout," Gavin said.

Nunes said he has contacted local metal recyclers, giving them pictures of the stolen material, which should be easily identifiable.

"These are vintage pieces," he said. "The light fixtures, they're absolutely magnificent."

Since then, both the contractor and cathedral staff have taken action to safeguard the facility while renovations proceed.

Cathedral rector Rev. Donald Lizzotti, for instance, said the parish is considering hiring security guards in the hope of preventing future problems, and has contracted a local company to add additional security cameras to the area, equipped with alarms.

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Meanwhile, Nunes said, workers have removed the remaining lamppost, protecting it from theft while also using it as a template to replicate the one that was taken. Nunes estimated the cost of replacing the lamppost at up to $40,000.

Workers began dismantling some of the scaffolding Tuesday, hoping to prevent people from accessing the building and stealing more copper. But that, too, will likely delay the project's completion and drive up the cost.

"This has set us back months. The money, the time and the morale of the team, everyone's been beaten up," Nunes said.

Lizzotti said the Diocese of St. Catharines remains committed to the project, despite additional costs.

"We haven't figured out how much that's going to be yet, but we are going ahead anyway," he said. "We have to continue."

The diocese is also continuing to raise money for the project with contributions from congregations across Niagara.

"We'll just have to put more urgent appeals out for that," Lizzotti said.

Despite the problems, he said he's impressed by the work the team of artisans has been able to accomplish so far.

"It's going to be quite spectacular when it's finished," he said.

In the more than 20 years Nunes has been restoring churches, he said, he has never experienced anything like the problems his team faced in the past few weeks in St. Catharines.

"We've had minor thefts, but this has been the most extreme continuous example of this type of behaviour," he said.

"I thought we only had squirrels and bats to deal with, but no. They're our friends now."

Allan.Benner@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1629 | @abenner1

This story has been corrected to reflect the accurate cost of the cathedral renovations. Incorrect information was provided to The Standard.