Liam Durkin
ST JOHN’S Catholic Church, Trafalgar is in urgent need of repair.
White ants are surely condemned to an eternity in hell after destroying most of the section at the foot of the altar, leaving parishioners with a makeshift place of worship and hefty repair bill.
Services have been continuing at the church, with the altar moved onto the floor, just a few metres in front of where the extent of the damage starts.
Currently an entire section of flooring has been ripped up where churchgoers would ordinarily receive communion, meaning the priests’ cloakroom and stone lectern are out of action.
Unfortunately parishioners were left none-the-wiser about the damage caused by the ants, as it was all covered by the carpet.
St John’s Parish council member Jean Huffer said around $100,000 was needed to repair the church.
“To continue using it we have to look after it, there hasn’t been the money to do that for quite a long time and we need to do something now,” she said.
“The more we get the more repairs we can do. The other buildings on the site, the presbytery and the parish centre, they also need repair work done.”
St John’s has engaged the Catholic Diocese of Sale, with Bishop Greg Bennett aware of the parish’s plight.
The sheer size of the brick church strikes drivers as they drive by on Waterloo Rd, and has capacity for virtually 1000 patrons with an upstairs section.
In years gone by, Christmas services at St John’s had people literally standing in the aisles.
The architecture of the church is a throwback to ancient thinking, with its huge ceiling based on the theory that people’s thoughts would be closer to God.
Today, some 50 parishioners attend services
weekly, as well the regular engagement from neighbouring St Joseph’s Primary School.
Strangely enough, Trafalgar is one of the few places where the Catholic church does not share the same name with the Catholic primary school.
The first Josephite nuns came in 1930, serving the parish as a school, and were housed in a brick building purchased at the height of the Great Depression by money raised by the community.
Now, close to 100 years later, the Trafalgar Catholic community is again in need of
the community to dig deep and give generously.
Given the emotional attachment of the many people who have been involved in weddings, funerals and baptisms within the church, Ms Huffer said any donations, however great or small, would be appreciated.
There has been a Catholic church in Trafalgar since 1889, with the current building standing since 1955.
To make a donation please phone the St John’s parish secretary on 5633 1166.
