It began in Advent last year. A journey to reflect upon 1859 and since. It is a journey which I hope has taken in much prayer, many a gathering of people together for international dinners in the Parish; a week of celebration for the school, who are away on holiday now and in which they participated with their art and trying to reflect on what it meant to be this old as a Parish Catholic community in Douglas. I hope this (evening) is a bit of a highlight on the day this Church was first opened for the celebration of mass.
It is not the end it is just part of a journey. During the rest of the year we have time to reflect upon the work of the Sisters of Mercy and the American Sisters Paulette and Janet who work among us. An opportunity to hear some of the work that’s been done in Kenya, Kuro, in Bethlehem and South Africa because we have journeyed with those communities and their struggle for better health, learning, development as well and would sum up the year on the feast of Christ the King, the end of the Church’s year and make some people really reflect as we celebrate a Latin mass again in this Church. Remembering all that’s been said, celebrated in a 150 years here and for us in the Archdiocese Christ the King is Youth Sunday and so we have a youth celebration mass of evening of Christ the King.
It is a story which began well before First Advent, it began well before 1859. It began in critical times, a struggle at first to be, to exist, somehow or other the Catholics on the Island and those who came to live here managed to survive with the help of occasional priests, the Benedictines from Cumberland the old Catholic Mission there, the Jesuit Fathers from Dublin who creep in. One time a French émigré priest fleeing from the Revolution, acting as a French teacher to the Governor’s family, he was to be reported for saying mass for these “disobedient Catholics”.
The Isle of Man, in fact since the reformation, many of the rigours and hardships that faced across did not exist but we still waited for the chance to be free. To be free to worship. That came in 1829 with emancipation. But before that, as I said, in Castletown they were already laying seeds in a Church there which served the Irish Catholic groups in the Garrison Castletown, Catholic merchants, a few innkeepers as well and then the light dawned in Douglas. Masses being said in houses out on the Old Castletown Road, at St Bridget’s and then in the very difficult years in the forties because of the numbers of increasing population disease rife in the Isle of Man cholera, the plague one of the priests great founders of the Church in Douglas Father McMahon who died and was buried at Braddan, . He died caring for the sick.
1829 brought freedom to mobilise and to act to think of even a Church fit for the glory of God different from SFX, the old Methodist schoolroom at the end of Athol Street.
A decisive date for the Church in the British Isles and also for our Diocese of Liverpool 1850 in September when for the first times we had residential Bishops the Catholic Church in England and Wales and the country was divided up in such a way that the Diocese of Liverpool formed made up of the coast regions of Lancashire. That went from Coniston to Merseyside and the Isle of Man were included in that document and so that began our official link with the Diocese of Liverpool to which we must always be grateful because it was from Liverpool direction was given and it was from here the money came to build a church but we have had that continued relationship.
I said September 1850 the establishment of a Diocese, two months later a young Priest was ordained in December at Usher College in the North East of England. After two years of struggling working in Whitechapel and Liverpool he was assigned here to take up the task that had been done and planned of building this Church. A remarkable thing for a young man to do, a remarkable thing to be achieved and considering the poverty of people in general in the Island not just the Catholics. Yet it was done a remarkable gift he had in his choice of an architect he had in John Clutton. For after here Clutton became famous for stately homes and many a church throughout England.
This Church opened in 1859. It was a big shock to the system. You know things shouldn’t change as you all know so rapidly in the Isle of Man. The change caused a fence. There were great demonstrations attacks upon the old Church on the corner of Athol Street with windows broken and there was a really popular song at the time “To hell with the Pope and throw old Kelly in the Dock”. The priest James Carr was at the blessing of the foundation stone in 1857 because of the troubles and opposition in 1858 he wrote a pamphlet to the citizens of Douglas.
In 1859 30 priests came off the ferry at the quayside with two Bishops. August 4th this Church was opened with a mass.
I said 1850 was a great date for the English Catholic Church. Freedom to live. Freedom to worship but what was more remarkable then it really amounted to a freedom to flourish in an amazing way.
John Henry Newman spoke to all the new Bishops of England and Wales in 1852 and he told them you’re in for a shock. This is going to be marvellous. These were people who didn’t know where they were going. Overburdened with terrible problems in terms of the great numbers of starving Irish immigrants pouring into England and the problems of disease in the towns and of course the rural poverty that existed everywhere but the fact was an extraordinary picture developed of the ability of people to strive, to build, to grow.
1859 this Church opened, two years later St Mary’s School opened, 1860 we planned the opening of Ramsey, a Church was built in Peel eventually Castletown and then of course the growth of St Anthony’s, St Joseph’s Willaston and the Sacred Heart in Pulrose. They wouldn’t have believed it possible in 1859 but that was really not because of the building was it.
As I said at the beginning of our year of preparation its good that we have such a wonderful building being cared for so much but its really the temple within. God living in us that the work really done and the witness to what we celebrate here is given. That was done very remarkably and this is true of all our Churches and all the congregations in the 19th century. The Church leaders seeing the importance at a time of great difficulty and hardship the importance of the child and the school and how much we owe all of us to those dedicated people who taught in our schools at St Mary’s, lay staff and very soon Sisters of Mercy came in 1860s, they remained here for over 100 years and I am happy that Sister Theresa of the Sisters of Mercy is here to see the results of the work of her Sisters over 100 years here.
I suppose I could say much of the work focussed yes on the school and the children but on the priests and people and families the weekly and daily prayer activity, the preaching of the word, the sacraments, the caring of the sick. That multitude of ministry that really was left very much to priests, to clergy. I am glad we have Peter Ryan with us today because he really I think marks another period of flourishing in the life of the Church here in the Island. For an example of that Peter was here when the Sisters of Mercy left and we had the help of the two Sisters from Canada. Because what then flourished under Peter and is certainly continuing in the Diocese and our Church and all the Churches is the ministry, the ministry of all. The preparation of so many different adults to ministers of the Gospel, of the Eucharist, ministers caring for people in marriage, preparing families for Baptism that was a big change in the life of this Parish and our Parishes and the Church in general.
You see it isn’t just the building, it’s not just our mass and our word of God that sustains us its a countless number of ordinary folk, priests, religious, men and women and children who hear the word are fed by the bread of life and out there in the Isle of Man, in the world have lived the Gospel. A great way of saying thank you to James Carr, for the many different priests and families that served the Church. That had many benefits too that enabled poor congregations to build beyond their means and then have to pay for it for years afterwards as well. This Church was built in 1859. James Carr came back here to celebrate 50 years of St Mary’s. He lived to 1913 actually but when he came back it was for the opening of our new [Radados]. there at the back but he was able to come back and see a flourishing congregation and well please God he enjoys what he sees in you today and all of us. Benefactors, the Higgins family, sorry Moira isn’t well enough to be here but representatives of the family are, Albert Gubay who gave us such an increase in buildings at St Anthony’s Onchan and in many different ways has helped the Island and St Columbus Port Erin.
But thanks to all of you. But if this is God, if this is a temple blessed to Solomon, whilst it is the place where God is known and his name is revealed but we have to heed St Paul that we are the living stone we are to go out and bring life to what we believe and practice so really it is worthwhile thanking God for all the good people who have led us to this celebration.
