DEDICATION MASS TO BE PERFORMED\Mahony to lead St. Mel ceremony.

Byline: Daniel Taub Daily News Staff Writer

More than two years after the Northridge Earthquake, Cardinal Roger Mahony is scheduled to lead a rededication ceremony and Mass on Sunday at St. Mel Catholic Church, which used its quake repairs as a chance to renovate its 40-year-old facilities.

"It's a very important occasion for the parish," said Monsignor Padraic Loftus. "And it's always a big occasion when the cardinal comes."

Mahony is scheduled to lead Sunday's 11 a.m. Mass and anoint the altar and the walls of the church with holy oils to reconsecrate St. Mel as a place of worship, Loftus said.

Although the Jan. 17, 1994 earthquake did not cause any structural damage to the church, it did damage stained glass windows, ceilings, marble statues, walls surrounding the church and the church's organ, Loftus said. "They called it cosmetic, but it was pretty expensive cosmetic (damage)."

Renovation and additions to the church cost around $4 million in insurance and parish money, said Joel Bercsi, parish administrator.

St. Mel is one of seven Roman Catholic churches in the San Fernando Valley that sustained major damage in the Northridge Quake and since has been renovated, said the Rev. Gregory Coiro, director of media relations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Work on St. Mel over the last two years included rebuilding the sanctuary, installing a new air conditioner, extending the church's organ gallery and building a new outdoor gathering space, Loftus said.

The church - which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year - also made changes to comply with Vatican guidelines, including the construction of a new baptismal pool, Loftus said.

The church's confession room - which previously had a division between the priest and the parishioner - has been converted to a "reconciliation room," which allows the two to meet face-to-face, Loftus said.

Loftus said that the renovation is only the first of a three-stage plan for the church's growth. The second phase - a new auditorium-gymnasium - is "already in the works," and the third phase is a new junior high building for the church's school, he said.

"What we did was to sit down and look at the entire parish . . . and look at what we wanted to do in the next 15 to 20 years," Loftus said.

"While it is an old church, it is now new," he said.

Susan Screbant - a parishioner at St. Mel for 24 years - said she is happy with the renovation.

"They were able to keep the prayerful mood of the church, which has been significant for all of us, yet they have been able to renovate it to the point where it is bright. It's not dark anymore," Screbant said.

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Photo A worker applies some finishing coats of paint to a wall near the altar of St. Mel Catholic Church, which will be reconsecrated Sunday. Phil McCarten/Daily News