Wigan church celebrates £500k windfall
Parishioners are celebrating after a charity donated almost half a million pounds towards their Wigan church.
The Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation announced its support for St Patrick’s in Scholes with £498,456 toward repairs to the building, “ensuring that this valuable work in the community of Wigan can continue to grow.”
The Roman Catholic church currently serves as a much-used hub for the local community but its roof is badly in need of mending. Church bosses say the gift will go a long way towards tackling the problem.
In its announcement, the foundation says: “The building is the spiritual home of a strong congregation, most of whom live in poverty or experience some form of hardship and disadvantage.
"The church has developed relationships with local councillors to hold events that benefit all members of the local community; reaching out to those especially who may not necessarily be members of the Catholic Faith.
"They host a much-used local food bank and hold regular donations and appeals to reach out to those in greatest need.
"Parishioners are keen to extend links with a range of local charities, particularly with Happy Smiles: Supporting Wigan Adults and Children with Disabilities’ for which a number of parishioners hold regular fund-raisers and complete marathons in aid of.”
A spokesperson for the Liverpool Roman Catholic Archdiocese said: “We would like to thank the Albert Gubay Foundation for the very generous donation of £498,456 towards St Patrick’s Church, Wigan.
“This will help us to carry out roof repairs on the church, which has served the people of Scholes since the 19th century. The original church was built in 1847, while the present church opened in 1880.”
This is the second piece of good news for local Catholic churches in recent weeks.
It had been feared that one of either St Mary or St John’s on Standishgate would close.
But after much worry among parishioners and a lengthy consultation process, it was announced by the Archbishop of Liverpool, Malcolm McMahon last month that both would be remaining open after all.
The decision was taken to merge the parishes of St William and St Mary, meaning St Mary’s parish church has now been incorporated with the churches of St Patrick and St John.