I have had some very interesting pictures from Linda Withers. They will take you back more than a few years!
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| 56 year old kindergarten uniform & 50 year old gym t-shirt |
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| School clothes from 50+ years ago |
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| St Patrick's Convent School Pin |
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| Linda's School Pin on her Gym T-shirt |
I am so happy to see that Joan Reynolds Fogarty and her amazing group of school friends are still getting together. These ladies have been friends since Kindergarten and on 25 May they met for lunch at The Rooms. Bless you, ladies, and keep on celebrating friendship. It really is a precious gift.
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| THE BEAUTIFUL ST PATRICK'S SCHOOL FRIENDS |
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| ST PATRICK'S CHURCH |
http://stpatrickschurch.ca/2.0/news/
HAVE A LOOK AT THE LATEST NEWS FROM ST PATRICK'S PARISH.
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| OUR BELOVED ST PATRICK'S CHURCH, 1992 |
Dear Parishioners of St. Patrick’s and St. John Bosco Parishes:
As you are aware, the Basilica Heritage Foundation in partnership with St. Bonaventure’s School and Forum are planning to bid to re-purchase the Basilica Block. If this bid is successful, the Basilica will continue to operate as a parish and as the cathedral for our Archdiocese. We are grateful and relieved that the Basilica may be preserved as a place of worship, especially for the people of the central region of St. John’s. This, however, leaves several questions about the future of our parishes.
On June 2nd, the bids for all churches in the St. John’s area are due and will be evaluated by the Trustees. Following this, we expect to know which churches have been purchased and which have not. Currently, we are not aware of anyone pursuing to bid on St. Patrick’s church. Since St. John Bosco is not up for sale, it will not be immediately affected by the results of June 2nd; however, a decision will have to be reached at some point regarding its future as a parish.
From the results of our parish survey and parishioner feedback we have not yet seen sufficient financial commitment to consider a bid to preserve St. Patrick’s in addition to the Basilica. In our parish letter of March 26th/27th we also communicated the Archbishop’s points for consideration in this matter, which include:
While there are significant reasons in favour of keeping only the Basilica for the central region of St. John’s, if a group of dedicated parishioners wish to preserve St. Patrick’s, they are free to try to do so, keeping the above considerations in mind.
We expect that if St. Patrick’s remains unpurchased by June 2nd, we may continue to use it as our parish church until some final arrangement of ownership is reached. However, this requires that we meet our ongoing financial costs (e.g. heat, light, insurance, salaries etc.). We encourage all of you to continue to generously support the upkeep of our parish. All your contributions go towards the usual weekly costs of the parish operation. We have been running a deficit each month since January and our parish accounts are getting very low; however, we are planning to begin a fund-raising effort to help meet these operating costs. St. John Bosco has been much closer to meeting its operating costs.
As we await the results of June 2nd, we will try to continue as a parish, and we thank you for your ongoing support. If you have any questions or suggestions, please reach out to any of the members of our Parish Council, Finance Committee, or to our parish priest. To speak with any of us, please either approach one of us in church or leave a message at the parish office and we will get back to you.
Sincerely yours,
The Parish Council and Finance Committees of St. Patrick’s and St. John Bosco Parishes
(Rex Anthony, Jim Armstrong, Katrina McAlister, Allison Myler, Patricia Norman, Brenda Sheir, Kelly Skinner, Patricia Walsh-Warren, David Warford, Liam Warren)
with Fr. James Fleming
Teri Healey Evans is sharing some lovely school souvenirs with us. They are little cards which were given to her late sister, Cindy, and kept by their mother. Teri came across them in a book belonging to her mother and thought we would like to see them. She and I both thought these might encourage others to share any such tokens on our School Blog. We think there are plenty of them still out there. I know that I have at least one tucked away somewhere. I am going to have a look for it and post it when I find it. Come on, all you St Patrick's Convent School grads, please turn out your souvenir boxes and see what you can find to share with us all.
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| Front and back of Cindy's card from Miss Walsh |
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| Front and back of card given to Cindy by Miss Rogers |
Thanks Teri. These are really nice and, anything else you come across would be welcome too. Keep in touch.📚👩🏼🎓👨🏼🎓
👉👉 BEFORE YOU GO, HAVE A LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR BELOVED ST PATRICK'S PARISH. THINGS AREN'T LOOKING GOOD.😭
http://stpatrickschurch.ca/2.0/news/
I was given this photo a few years ago and it is definitely time I posted it. The quality of the photo is very poor but I think most people on it are recognizable. I have not been given any date for it but I think it would be around mid 1950s. I also think it is Sr Columba's grade 4 or 5 class. I have most of the names. Perhaps you could fill in the blanks for me. If you click on the photo, it should enlarge for you.
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| Do you know anyone in this picture? |
St Patrick's Church has some beautiful stained glass windows. Some of the windows date from 1881. In my opinion, these are the most beautiful. That is just my opinion and I am not an expert but I know what I like. I expect a lot of people would hold a different view and that is ok.
The newer windows were installed in the mid 1960s. They depict various biblical scenes. Of these more modern windows, this is my favourite. It depicts events in the life of Mary and, of course, salvation history.
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| Stained Glass windows, mid 1960s, by McNichols and Williams of Toronto |
The original windows were installed in 1881 and their beauty still inspires. Just two of the original windows are shown here. They are in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and show the Assumption of Mary and St Joseph with the Child Jesus.
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| Original windows installed in 1881 |
The most lovely of all St Patrick's stained glass windows are located in the sanctuary, above the altar. These windows were installed in 1881 and reflect our Irish heritage. St Patrick holds the center position and he is flanked on either side by St Columba and St Brigid, the Patron Saints of Ireland. When the sun shines through these magnificent windows, their brilliant colours dance across the floor and lift the heart.
The two pictures which follow were taken quite some years apart. The one with the crucifix was taken in 2003 and the other about 2013. The statue of the Risen Christ was placed there in memory of longtime parishioner and tireless supporter, the late Mike Walsh.
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| Original Sanctuary windows, 1881 |
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| The Patron Saints of Ireland, 1881 |
This great photo was sent to me by Joan Fitzgerald Ebsary quite some time ago. Joan sent it to our Facebook messenger and, for more than a year, I was unable to access Messenger. So, this photo languished there until last night when, thanks to Sean, I was able to get into messenger.
Here is Joan's photo. It is Grade 6, 1961. I notice the old S P C Crest on the uniforms. I love it! Perhaps Joan or a classmate could tell us a little more about the photo. It might not be a good idea to risk messaging me on Facebook, just in case it decides to lock me out again. Instead, it would be safer to send anything to me at the Blog contact address, mcallistersmith@gmail.com.
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| S P C, GRADE 6, 1961 |
Today's post continues to look at some of the things that could be lost in our present predicament. As today is Good Friday, and we have previously looked at our Redemptorist Mission Cross, we will have a look at the Pieta.
The original Pieta ("the Piety") is a Renaissance sculpture executed by Michelangelo Buonarroti about 1498/99. It was sculpted from a block of Carrara marble and Michelangelo said it was the finest block he had ever seen. It is the only piece of his work that the artist has ever signed. Through the centuries many versions of this work have appeared and many Catholic Churches have a version based on Michelangelo's. The original Pieta is housed in St Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, and is estimated to be worth an eye-popping $300 million today!
Now to our own, not quite so exalted but still beautiful and very loved, Pieta.
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| The beautiful Pieta in St Patrick's Church |
I am pretty certain that there was a version of the Pieta in St Patrick's Church when I was a child. That Pieta wasn't coloured. Do any of you 'more mature' folks remember that or am I "misremembering"? (I have never used that word before but I believe I heard a certain P M use it recently. I like to keep up with newspeak!) According to the leaflet, 'St Patrick's Church', Katrina McAllister and Karen Morrissey, 1996, the present Pieta was installed in the church in 1992. The base of a pulpit supports it.
This Pieta is vividly coloured and is very beautiful. It is inspiring, very touching, and is a point of deep respect and devotion for so many parishioners. Pray God we don't lose it.
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| A close up of the Pieta in St Patrick's Church |
It has been said that in his Pieta, Michelangelo's intention was not to focus on death but on acceptance. Let's continue to work and pray for our beloved Church and Parish but, perhaps we should also pray for acceptance of whatever God has in mind for the Catholic Church in Newfoundland.
I have just received this photo from my nephew, Craig. It was taken by Kimberly Rose. I think the photo is proof that beauty, like hope, grows in the most unlikely places.
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| Beauty and hope can flourish in unlikely places |
There is always hope!
👉Thanks to Kimberly and Craig for this beautiful picture.
In previous posts I have tried to remind us of what we have, what we take for granted, and what we could lose. In this little post I will highlight the Bishop Mullock Memorial Altar and remind us of its origins. Many of us spent our childhood looking at it but, as is often the case with the familiar, not actually seeing it!
In the following picture, we see the sanctuary of St Patrick's Church with the original altar. This is the Bishop Mullock Memorial Altar, installed in 1881. Bishop John Thomas Mullock, who died in 1869, was keen to forge ahead with the completion of St Patrick's Church and he worked tirelessly towards that goal.
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| The original Altar, St Patrick's Church |
The Gothic Style altar is constructed of Carrara marble. The Paschal Lamb is depicted in the central panel. To the left the Papal Keys are represented and to the right the Cross surmounted with the Crown of Thorns.
During church renovations in the early 1990s, the Bishop Mullock Memorial Altar was relocated to its present location, where the Blessed Sacrament is kept.
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| St Patrick's original altar, the Bishop Mullock Memorial Altar, installed in 1881 |
Look at it. It is too beautiful for words.
👉I have found some of the information about the Bishop Mullock Memorial Altar in the leaflet 'St Patrick's Church' by Katrina McAllister and Karen Morrissey, 1996👈
The Redemptorist Mission Cross was erected at St Patrick's Church in December 1882. It was originally placed at the front of the church, at the left side of the altar. It has been repositioned to the back of the church, at the main entrance. This cross is beloved of parishioners and is an important symbol of devotion.
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| THE REDEMPTORIST MISSION CROSS |
TO READ MORE ABOUT THE MISSION CROSS, FOLLOW THIS LINK.
https://stpatricksconventschool.blogspot.com/2017/03/redemptorist-mission-cross-st-patricks.html
In the previous post I mentioned the Fishermen's Hall on Queen St and people were surprised when they saw the photo of the building as it is today. So, I thought I might post a little bit about the amazing history of this historic building. It certainly has had an interesting life!
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| FORMER ST PETER'S CATHOLIC CHAPEL, 1873-1883 |
Fishermen's Hall was the venue for many and varied entertainments, including visiting trapeze artists, Flower Shows, musicians, shows, and plays by visiting dramatic troupes.
On 28 February 1871, a meeting took place at Fisherman's Hall. Captain William Jackman and several other prominent citizens met together and The Star of the Sea Society was founded and formally instituted.
In 1873 Bishop Power purchased the building. Internal renovations converted the single story building to a two story one. The upstairs was consecrated as St Peter's Chapel while the ground floor became a school. Four Sisters of Mercy came every day from Mercy Convent, Military Road, to teach the boys and girls.
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| (Picture taken from the Centenary Souvenir Book, 1955) |
The Sisters of Mercy operated St Peter's School until 1903. In 1903 the building became the commercial premises of Frank McNamara. In 1967 it was taken over by J B Hand & Sons who occupied the building for a number of years. After J B Hand, 16 Queen St was home to several more enterprises. You will find the plaque pictured below informative, I have no doubt.
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| Sign on side of building at 16 Queen St |
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| St Patrick's Church in 1991 (The Deanery Avenue School is partly visible behind the Deanery) |
By now you are all aware that our beautiful, historic, St Patrick's Church is under threat and (too horrible to contemplate) might have to be sold! To save this beautiful Parish Church which has been the spiritual home of so many of us, much help and inspiration is needed. What can we do?
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| ST PATRICK'S CHURCH |
On 8 February 1864, it was reported in 'The Newfoundlander' "The people of the city had made a beginning to the vast amount of work necessary by hauling the stone needed for the foundations of the church."
"During the last week the Catholic people of this place have been employed every day in large numbers bringing stone from various neighboring quarries for the new stone church about to be erected at St Patrick's, Riverhead. Some of the blocks of stone were of colossal size, weighing many tons each, hundreds of men being engaged in drawing them to their destination. The people, as usual, were full of zeal and energy and a work so begun cannot fail of being successfully carried out in a short period."
Bishop Mullock was impressed, finding the enthusiasm of the people "most extraordinary".
"A portion of the large amount of money required for the construction was raised in a Grand Bazaar in aid of St Patrick's held in the upper room of Fishermen's Hall on Queen Street." Having paid their admission of 15 pence, patrons were treated to music provided by various bands of the day, a sale of work, and a Grand Lottery. The Bazaar was quite a success and raised the sum of £1354, a staggering amount in those days.
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| FORMER FISHERMEN'S HALL |
The following year, 1865, the good Bishop once again announced that the day's fishery for the church on 15 August, both in St John's and on the Labrador, would be applied to St Patrick's. He also announced that he intended to introduce a penny a week collection as a means of support. We certainly owe Bishop John Thomas Mullock our thanks. He was indeed a determined champion of St Patrick's Church.
I have no proof of it, but I feel sure that while all this activity was going on, there was also much prayer being sent up to heaven for the success of the venture. If we can do nothing else, maybe we too could do a spot of praying. St Joseph is a wonderful Saint to turn to in any situation but, since he is the Patron of the Universal Church, he would be the ideal saint to come to our help now.
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| STATUE OF ST JOSEPH IN ST PATRICK'S CHURCH |
