down memory lane
This letter from Father Peter McCann appeared in the ‘Solemn Opening’ booklet on the opening day of Saint James the Greater in 1961.
My Dear Parishioners,
It is almost two years since we gathered on the site of our new church to see His Lordship Bishop Scanlan lay the Foundation Stone. Then we stood in a roofless shell.
To-day as we admire the pleasing lines of our new church—the moulding on the ceiling, the graceful woodwork of the spacious sanctuary, the light and colour from the windows, it is not easy to translate our feelings into words.
Perhaps it is in the missal and in the language of the Mass that our mood to-day will find its truest echo, namely, a heartfelt ” Deo gratias” and a thoughtful ” Quid retribuam?”
For your loyal support which has made this day possible we, the priests of St. James’s, thank you and offer our congratulations.
May God bless the parish in its united endeavour-strengthen our faith, grant us a spirit of sacrifice, that we may be always ” Doers of the Word and not hearers only.”
St. James, pray for us.
Rev. Peter McCann, Parish Priest at Saint James the Greater, 1961
