By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

WOONSOCKET — The high cost of oil and the need to conserve heat and save money are all conspiring to endanger the historic paintings at St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center, home of one of the largest collections of fresco paintings in North America.

Heating during the winter months has always been a problem for the building, which typically uses 1,000 gallons of oil a week to keep the temperature between 45 and 50 degrees.
This year, with oil prices hovering around the $3.50 per gallon mark, caretakers of the former St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church at 82 Cumberland St. are forced to turn the heat off entirely, except for when it is absolutely necessary.
“This is a dangerous situation because the building and the frescoes inside need to be kept at a minimum of 40 degrees to stave off deterioration,” explained Dominique Doiron, president of the St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center.
Anything below 40 degrees and the hundreds of priceless frescoes that adorn the historic church could crack, he said.
Last winter, the center spent $20,000 on heating oil — and that was for a mild winter. Moreover, the cost of oil at that time was under $3 a gallon.
This year, home heating oil prices remain at near record levels, the result of tight supplies, cold weather in the Northeast and tensions in hot spots around the world.
“We’re worried about this winter because of the cost of oil and the uncertainty of how cold it’s going to get,” says Yvette Doiron, the center’s secretary.
Doiron’s husband, W. Auray, monitors the weather every day. If the temperatures are predicted to be mild, he shuts the furnaces off. If a cold snap threatens, he turns them on.
But it’s only December and a prolonged cold snap could mean thousands of dollars in heating bills for the cultural center, a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation of the former church.
The former St. Ann parish was founded in 1890 to meet the religious needs of the city’s large number of Franco-Americans who migrated from Canada to work in the booming textile trade.
The church on Cumberland Street was built in the early 20th century. More than 40 stained glass windows, created by the CH. Lorin Company in Chartres, France, were installed between 1923 and 1925.
The crown jewel of the church, however, is its fresco artwork. During the 1940s, Prof. Guido Nincheri, an artist trained in Florence, Italy, and living in Montreal, was hired to cover the plain interior walls with religious paintings.
When he discovered that the walls had never been given their final coat of plaster, Nincheri took advantage of that oversight to cover the ceilings and walls with magnificent paintings done in the fresco style made famous by Michelangelo and Raphael.
Nincheri devoted eight years to the task. There are more than 175 specific scenes with 600 characters and 400-plus faces. The artist chose a parishioner as the model for each face.
By some estimates, the extent and beauty of the fresco artwork are unparalleled in New England and possibly in the United States.
The Roman Catholic Diocese closed St Ann’s as a place of worship about a decade ago. Since then, it has been used as a bingo hall and arts and cultural center.
Now, the center needs the public’s help, Its leaders are requesting financial assistance in the form of donations to help St. Ann’s get through the winter.
“Heating is the largest annual expense that the center faces,” says Dominique Doiron. “This would give us a much needed boost during these winter months.”
Anyone who would like to assist the center is asked to  call (401) 356-0713 or (401) 767-3777.