Catholic congregations combine

St Alphonsus. PHOTOS: LINDA ROBERTSON
St Alphonsus. PHOTOS: LINDA ROBERTSON
St Bernadette’s
St Bernadette’s
St Brigid’s
St Brigid’s

The Easter Holy Thursday Mass being celebrated at St Patrick's Basilica in South Dunedin this week will have special significance, after three Catholic churches in South Dunedin closed their doors at the weekend.

St Bernadette's, St Brigid's and St Alphonsus held their final Masses last Saturday and Sunday, before the congregations merge with the parish at St Patrick's Basilica.

Jo Bell, a former member of the St Brigid's parish and a member of the Dunedin South pastoral area strategic committee, said St Patrick's had been closed for many months during a $2.6million redevelopment, which would be fully completed by mid-year.

The 7pm Mass on Thursday was the first in the reopened basilica and would have special significance in many ways.

Some people would still be ‘‘grieving'' the loss of their former churches.

But the Mass would be ‘‘incredibly exciting'' as well, marking another step in renewal, refocusing and ‘‘our pilgrimage'' as a church in the southern area, Mrs Bell said.

Dunedin South pastoral area parish priest Fr Gerard Aynsley said there were several reasons behind the church closures, but this was also a time of positive ‘‘renewal'' and the main aim was to ‘‘refocus'' on their mission to the community rather than on maintaining old church buildings.

Ultimately a church was ‘‘something much bigger'' than simply bricks and mortar, he said.

The changes were ‘‘like a new start for us'' and providing transport for people who needed it when worshipping at St Patrick's was ‘‘very much part of our plan''.

He did not want to focus on dwindling congregation numbers, but said times were changing and some of the parishes had been established when there were a lot more people and many more priests.

Fr Aynsley emphasised that the four churches had been working together for more than 10 years and the St Patrick's congregation had been spread across the three other congregations during the basilica's renovation last year.

Although the changes were positive and some people were excited by them, he recognised that some people would also be saddened, given that many people had ‘‘celebrated really significant events in their lives in those three churches.''

Community outreach had always been a key part of the church's work, and there would be strength in people from throughout the pastoral area worshipping together at St Patrick's, he said.

john.gibb@odt.co.nz

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