It was 2011 when the historic St. Patrick’s Church in downtown Lethbridge last hosted a service after then-bishop of Calgary Frederic Henry ordered it closed.
He had planned to close down two other churches in Lethbridge — St. Basil’s Catholic Church and Our Lady of the Assumption Church — in hopes of creating a much larger church.
Since then, a local advocacy group called the Save Our Churches Association (SOCA) has been fighting to have it reopened through an appeal process.
Vice-chair Grant Alger has a very personal connection to the church.
“My wife’s parents were married here, we were married in this church, my children were married in this church, they were baptized here and many, many people have those same memories,” explained Alger.
The association received unofficial word from their lawyers on Tuesday that the highest court in the Vatican found the order from 2011 to be invalid and that the church can be reopened. The news came one day before St. Patrick’s Day.
“To finally have this ruling that’s in our favour that’s going to save this beautiful church of ours is just heart-warming for all of us that are in support of maintaining St. Patrick’s,” Alger said.
The church remains the property of the Diocese of Calgary; any final decisions on its future will be made by the present Bishop William McGrattan and the pastor of All Saints Parish Fr. Kevin Tumback.
Global News reached out to McGrattan, however, he is not providing any comments on the matter yet.
Tumback tells Global News the parish and diocese are waiting for an official statement of the ruling from the Vatican, at which time it will then be reviewed and the two will sit down with the association to talk about next steps.
Alger hopes next steps will include a reopening plan.
“This church was built in 1903, so it’s over 108 years old now and it’s our mother church. It has a strong connection to our community,” he said.
At this time it’s not known when the Vatican will make the decision official.