Last week the Passionist community of the Ardoyne in Belfast opened the refurbished Houben Centre for Peace and Reconciliation in one of the most contentious pieces of ground in the city. The building, originally built as the Boy’s National School in 1914, and more recently a centre for parish activities, is now dedicated to the building of a hope-filled future for all sides in this community.
The Houben Centre, named after the Dutch Passionist, St Charles Houben of Mount Argus, who once lived in Holy Cross, was financially supported by the Flax Trust.
It houses the Ardoyne Shankill Healthy Living Centre, offering therapeutic services to people from both Ardoyne and Shankill areas, the youth project, R City which offers training to young people from both Ardoyne Youth Club and the Hammer Youth Centre from the Shankill and the Peace and Reconciliation Office headed by the Passionists.