St. Patrick’s reopening a homecoming for faithful

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on March 24, 2023.

Herald photo by Ian Martens - Some of the hundreds that came out for St. Patrick's Day Mass following the service last week as St. Patrick's Catholic Church opened its doors after being closed for more than a decade.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

After being closed for over a decade, St. Patrick’s Catholic Church opened its doors last week for a celebration of Mass to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day, their patron saint.

Almost 600 people of all ages gathered not only to celebrate the saint, but also to take advantage of the rare and awaited opportunity to see the church inside once again. Many had tears in their eyes, some of joy, and some filled with memories.

The Mass was officiated by Father Derek Remus, the associate pastor of All Saints Parish, who before starting asked those in attendance to “do the Catholic shuffle” to make sure there was room for everyone as the church continued to fill up.

Even though there were some audio issues with the wireless microphone Fr. Remus was using, he never stopped. He simply raised his voice and continued the service.

During Mass he spoke about Saint Patrick and his life before becoming a saint, his work in Ireland, his unwavering faith, and how those who were present would benefit from following his example.

People came to the celebration from all parts of the city, and some even from out of town to be inside the church once again. That was the case of Roberta Matson, who was part of St. Patrick’s parish while it was open and since has moved to Okotoks.

“It means everything to be here, it feels like home. This parish feels like home. I came here after years of it being closed and I see people who were at my children’s baptism 15 and 13 years ago and it just fills my hearts and see people haven’t seen in forever, but they remember all the special memories and we talk about it,” said Matson.

 She said people were surprised to see her children grown up, and they talked about memories of children running outside together and playing after Mass and all the time many mothers spent in the crying room just so they could attend St. Patrick’s and be with their family.

 “We came down this afternoon specifically just for Mass tonight, and then we’re going home. We couldn’t miss this for the world and will be back in September. It’s hard to leave here knowing the doors are shut,” said Matson.

She said it was wonderful to see familiar faces from when she used to come to church to St. Patrick’s before it shut down.

“It feels so good to be here, everybody has special memories of their babies being baptized, of their weddings, and it’s so good to be in this parish. It’s the most beautiful parish that Lethbridge has,” said Matson.

 She said the church was not only a place to worship, but it became a place to call home, a place to create beautiful friendships with people that became family.

 “When my kids were wee little babies, Lisa was the one, she’s like ‘can I hold your baby?’ and I’m like ‘oh yes please, such a tired new mom.’ I gave her my little newborn and off she went and that was fine, because she was from the parish and I knew she would come back,” said Matson.

 She said that even though they moved away, the friendship remained strong and now that her children are receiving their confirmations, they have asked her to invite Lisa to be their sponsor.

– with files from Ian Martens

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