NORTH ATTLEBORO - Worshipers attending Sacred Heart Church this weekend will be able to get a bit of a lift.

An elevator that was installed as part of a building addition is now up and running, just in time for Christmas.

"What a wonderful Christmas present," said the Rev. David Costa, pastor at Sacred Heart and at neighboring St. Mary's Parish.

When installers turned over the key to the elevator on Friday, he said, "we were thrilled."

The elevator is part of an addition that includes indoor and outdoor ramps, making the building totally accessible to anyone who cannot handle the flights of stairs that used to provide the only way into the 98-year-old church. Now they can use the new side entrance that can be accessed from either the front of the church, or from the adjacent school parking lot.

Once inside, visitors will find the elevator straight ahead. One floor down takes them into the parish hall on the lower level, and one ride up takes them into the main church area by way of a hallway with ramps that provide easy access into the sanctuary.

The elevator also leads into a new meeting room that was installed as part of the construction, and into the newly renovated chapel that is used for daily Mass and smaller services.

Changes have also been made inside the main church, where a new oak platform has been built for the baptistry area. A new baptismal font is currently being designed and will soon be installed.

The interior of the church also has a fresh coat of paint, and the six main stained glass windows, which have had plain glass until now, will soon have artistic ones.

The new panes, which depict various religious scenes, were salvaged from St. Elizabeth's Church in Fall River before it was closed and later torn down. The stained glass is being refashioned to fit the windows at Sacred Heart, and the $10,000 cost per window has been covered by donations.

The addition, which took about a year to complete, cost $700,000, and Costa said close to $600,000 has already been raised through contributions from parishioners.

It was the needs of parishioners that prompted the project. Enough of them are handicapped or have difficulty with stairs, he said, that the need for the elevator became obvious.

Telephone calls have been placed to several parishioners who could not previously attend Mass, and some of them are now planning to be there for Christmas. Costa said one woman "bought a new dress for the occasion."

Christmas Masses at Sacred Heart on Church Street are at 4 p.m. and midnight on Sunday, and at 10:15 a.m. Christmas morning. At St. Mary's on Park Street, which has ramps but not an elevator, Mass will be celebrated Sunday at 6:30 p.m., and on Christmas Day at 9 a.m.