Landmark building is sold for €700,000
HYMNS and prayers will be heard once again in the Church of the Sacred Heart – also known as the Jesuit Church – in the Crescent in Limerick, after a community of young religious bought it at a cost of €700,000, a fraction of the original purchase price.
The community of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, which is currently working in Granagh, county Limerick, has bought the church and adjacent building, which stood vacant for six years and was in danger of falling into ruin.
The property was purchased with a mortgage and with help from friends and supporters of the community.
The Institute of Christ the King has had a residence in the diocese since 2009 and offers Latin Mass every Sunday at St. Patrick’s Church, whilst also working neighbouring dioceses.
Founded in 1990, the Institute is a Roman-Catholic society. The 64 priests of the Institute work all over the world to promote the spiritual Kingship of Christ. A special emphasis is laid on the harmony between faith and culture, and because of this the community has acquired a reputation for promoting the arts, especially sacred music and architecture.
They will be drawing on this experience to restore the Church of the Sacred Heart to its classical beauty and make it available once more as a point of reference for the cultural life of Limerick.
“The roof is in urgent need of repair and the gutters have been blocked for six years now, so that will need looking at first,” said Canon Wulfran Lebocq, Prior of the community in Limerick. “But luckily, the inside is in good condition. We will be moving in October or November”.
The mother-house and international seminary of the Institute of Christ the King, is based in Florence, Italy, where 80 seminarians are training for the priesthood and 21 religious sisters are practising. Among these are several Irish vocations.
The community has missions in Gabon (Africa) and important apostolates in the United States, England, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Sweden and naturally in Rome, where their founder, Msgr. Gilles Wach, was ordained to the priesthood by Blessed Pope John Paul.
“This beautiful church at the Crescent is still today a special architectural jewel, and many deplored its closing and long-term vacancy. The Institute of Christ the King, which has a special devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, truly desires to reopen this church for the benefit of all, in close collaboration with the local civil and ecclesiastical authorities. In this way, yet another sign of a brighter future will again come alive in Limerick,” the Canon concluded.
Pat Kearney of Rooney Auctioneers, negotiated the sale.
