The days are numbered for St. Patrick’s Church in downtown Lethbridge.
Bishop Henry of Calgary handed down a decree Oct. 1 stating the church will be relegated to profane but not sordid use as of Jan. 1, 2017, meaning the church would be closed for good and will be put up for sale.
Father Kevin Tumback of the All Saints Roman Catholic Parish said St. Patrick’s can no longer fill the needs of its congregation.
“It’s not just about going to mass on Sunday,” Father Tumback said. “It’s about the bible studies, it’s about the men’s group, it’s about the women’s group, it’s about the youth group, it’s about all of these other things.
“Sadly, if you don’t have the faculties, you can’t provide the services.”
The decree notes other reasons for closing the church, including a lack of parking space as well as high expenses to keep up the building.
The diocese plans to build a much larger church east of 43 Street using the profits from the St. Patrick’s sale, as well as the sale of St. Basil’s Catholic Church and Our Lady of the Assumption Church.
Some parishioners are heartbroken over the decision and said a new church isn’t needed.
“It would be in some respects like a knife to the heart,” vice chair of the Save Our Churches Association Grant Alger said.
“We love our church.”
“We feel like we have three beautiful community churches in our city and that they adequately meet our needs at this point in time,” Alger said.
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The association has filed an appeal with the Vatican in Rome – but have yet to hear any response.
“We’re hoping that the Vatican will suspend any of those decisions to permanently close the church until they’ve had a chance to address our appeal,” Alger added.
If the closure does go through on Jan. 1, 2017, Father Tumback said it will be tough on some parishioners, but worth it.
“I know change is hard, but change is also very very good because it allows you to grow and right now with what we have, it’s really hard to grow,” Father Tumback said.
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