Like Catholic churches throughout the country, St. Paul Catholic Church in New Bern was facing a potential crisis: serving an expanding congregation with a shrinking supply of priests. To meet future needs, the parish would need to expand the seating capacity of its church from 500 to 1200. At the same time, the church wanted to provide additional office spaces to relieve overcrowding and enhance privacy of interaction. This growth would require expanded restroom facilities as well. The existing church was widened from east to west and extended to the north, its new ceiling rising to forty feet; the new design included three-sided seating and a more traditional sanctuary and tabernacle than were in the previous building. Three colors of granite were used in the construction of the reredos and baptismal font, the latter large enough to accommodate full immersion and located within the congregational seating just inside the church doors. The two-story height narthex was furnished to serve as both a social gathering space for church services and a parish "living room' for more intimate conversation.