An Irish Church that existed in the penal times has been re-opened in Waterford, with a new footpath to it blessed by Bishop Phonsie Cullinan.
Mass was celebrated in St Patrick’s Church on Jenkin’s Lane throughout the 18th Century when Catholics suffered severe persecution. The earliest Mass recorded there happened in 1704.
A large number of faithful attended, with Bishop Cullinan leading the faithful in prayer in the Old Chapel, before the blessing of the new laneway took place outside.
Blessed Edmund Rice, founder of the Christian and Presentation Brothers, often attended St Patrick’s as a young merchant.
Cllr Pat Fitzgerald shared his delight at the reopening of St Patrick’s saying: “My mother brought me here as a child and I always felt that there was something missing from the city when I passed by and these gates were closed. It is a historic gem in the middle of the city that reminds us all where we came from.”