On January 22, 1902, at a general assembly of the heads of families, the parish priest, Don Domenico Barella, spoke about the necessity for the parish to have a church that met the needs of the population. It was necessary to decide whether to expand the old sacred building or to construct a new church.
The parish priest had already assigned the task of creating a project to engineer Borgo from Vicenza in 1899 for the compilation of a design to extend the old parish church. Borgo had presented his first project in 1900, which was then reworked and modified: the old church would be completely transformed, with the façade facing Vicenza and the choir in place of the current façade. However, the project also included the addition of two side aisles, constructions that would have necessitated the demolition of the rectory, which is why this solution was abandoned.
It was then entrusted to Borgo to design a new church to be built in a location close to the old building.
The new church was to be erected where the steps and the square in front of the church are located today, facing Montebello. During Easter 1904, excavation work began, but a serious inconvenience immediately appeared: the soft sloping ground provided little guarantee of solidity for such a large building.
Work was therefore suspended, and the design for the extension of the old church was revisited. Other designers were consulted, but the solution did not come. Finally, the parish priest Don Domenico decided to take action on his own initiative and seized a new idea that presented itself: to excavate the mountain up to a certain distance from the bell tower. This project proved ideal for aesthetics, with the façade of the church facing Vicenza, and for statics, as the building would rest on solid rock.
Engineer Borgo was again consulted, who approved the idea, and on February 27, 1906, work began.
Work progressed feverishly and not without difficulties on the construction of the church until 1913, when the archpriest Don Domenico Barella, who had been the soul of the enterprise, died suddenly. The unfinished work was then taken up with equal zeal by his nephew Don Giovanni Barella, who succeeded his uncle.
On June 20, 1914, the population finally saw their efforts crowned and could attend the solemn blessing of the building. Zermeghedo had its new church, in a charming position with a Romanesque-Byzantine façade, featuring 4 chapels and the main altar inside.
