1. On behalf of
the community which gathers here for Eucharist every Sunday, I welcome
you to Holy Family Church. You are standing on holy ground! God has
been worshipped in this place for the past 110 years.
2. It's a particularly
appropriate venue for this evening's service, as the building has accommodated
Christians of many hues over the years. For its first 54 years it was
a Methodist Chapel, then since 1949 it has served Roman Catholics in
this parish of St Patrick. Its history makes this one of the most unique
chapels in the province
3. The original
Methodist Chapel was put in place as a chapel-of-ease to serve the officers
and soldiers at Victoria Barracks, which was built on the top of this
hill overlooking Cork City. Work began on the chapel in 1894 and its
opening took place on 25 September 1895. It might not have been remarked
upon at the time, but its opening day was actually the feast of St Finbarr,
whom Christians in Cork honour as their first bishop and founder of
the city.
4. Photos were recently
donated which depict the church as it looked in 1905. The outside looks
much as it does today, but the interior picture shows an enormous organ
with choir stalls and minister's desk filling all of this space.
5. When the name
of the barracks changed from Victoria to Collins Barracks early in the
last century, this chapel was used less and less. Eventually it closed
and local people convinced St Patrick's Parish to buy it, paying for
it themselves. Some changes were then made to the church, with the organ
being removed, its whereabouts unknown – which is a great pity,
given the church's fine acoustics: it's made for music! The altar and
statues were added and the Stations of the Cross, but apart from these
additions the building is recognisably the same as the Methodist Chapel
it once was. Locals look at the heads holding up the pillars and wonder
if these indeed are the faces of John Wesley and his wife, as a local
tradition insists.
6. In 1949, on Sunday
23 October, the building was blessed by Bishop Coholan of Cork and has
been used for the worship of God in the Roman Catholic tradition ever
since. But acknowledging that, we also rejoice in the church's Methodist
heritage and invite Cork's Methodists to remember its role in their
story too.
7. We welcome you
all as we continue the 110-year-old tradition of praise and worship
within these walls, by the holy Church of God.
