NATCHEZ — One of downtown Natchez’s distinctive historic landmarks is getting a facelift.

St. Mary Basilica has been undergoing a repainting project in recent weeks, the church’s pastor the Rev. David O’Connor said, and this week the painters — Smith Painting Company of Hattiesburg — began working on the church’s distinctive steeple, which can be seen miles away in Louisiana.

Because the workers have to use a crane-mounted platform that reached 150-feet, the crane had to be parked in the street and the portion of South Union Street the St. Mary property occupies had to be blocked to through traffic Wednesday through Friday.

The contractors also had to do brick work on the exterior of the church repairing where a number of bricks had become broken, O’Connor said

The painting project was not for the church’s historic nave, but did cover the  trim areas for windows and doors, the concrete base at the building’s lower level and the railing and the parapet around the steeple.

Smith Painting did similar work for the church 16 years ago.

During the touch-up project, the church’s tower clock will have its numbers repainted as well.

“The numbering has worn off with the weathering over the past 16 years,” O’Connor said. “Those letters probably stand 10-12 inches tall, though they obviously don’t appear that large from the ground.”

The project likewise extends to the building that houses Catholic Charities and the church offices and rectory, O’Connor said, and will replace the mortar and tuck point bricks in the sacristy — an annex building used for vesting — which has had issues with moisture for a number of years.

O’Connor said the church is asking all long-term active and inactive members to make a one-time donation or three-month pledge to fund the project, which might cost as much as $100,000.