Lethbridge church reopens for St. Patrick's Day after 11-year closure

Lethbridge, Alta.'s St. Patrick's Church will be open for mass on Friday, thanks to the work of a volunteer group that went all the way to Rome to reverse a decision made by a Calgary bishop in 2011.

A Lethbridge Catholic church that was closed for more than a decade welcomed parishioners back on St. Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick's Church, located at 917 Fourth Avenue South, opened for mass on Friday for the first time since former Calgary Bishop Frederick Henry ordered it closed in 2011.

Henry, who resigned in 2017 because of health issues, said the closure was because of a lack of funds to restore the more than 100-year-old building and keep up with daily expenses.

An organization called Save Our Churches Association (SOCA) was formed a short time later to fight the decision and keep St. Patrick's open, along with other churches at risk of being closed.

It took its fight directly to Rome's highest appellate court, the Apostolic Signatura, which found Henry's decision was "not just a procedural error, but the decision itself was wrong."

parishioner Geoff Nickol said it was "amazing" to attend the mass, saying the church was "way bigger" than he remembered.

"It's huge and it's beautiful inside. The windows all came from Italy," Nickol said.

"We came here for probably about 20 years, and when they closed it we actually couldn't believe it. We wanted it to be fixed back up and for the parishioners to stay here."

In a statement on its website, the association called March 17 "a great day."

"A huge debt of gratitude is extended to the SOCA's loyal supporters over the years; to Philip Gray and the Saint Joseph Foundation of Hopedale, Ohio for guiding us through the long and complicated appeal process; to our Rome lawyers who successfully argued our case though it's multiple stages for three years and to the SOCA executive for their skill, perseverance and courage," SOCA wrote.

The reopening of the church is limited to just St. Patrick's Day and Sept. 24, but a commission has been ordered for find a permanent solution to keep the church open.

That's expected to conclude in January 2024.

With files from Quinn Keenan