Structure and Maintenance
Keeping our environment, buildings, and infrastructure maintained and in good repair.
The Church is first of all the people of God, but since the 4th century we have had church buildings in which to meet and which are symbols and signs of the presence of the Catholic Church.
Churches like ours are not only fitting places to celebrate the sacraments and other rites of the Church, but they are shrines where people come to pray all through the day and all through the week. The location of our church in the heart of the city, and its beauty mean that this building is used more than most churches in the diocese as a place for people to come and pray.
Like those who built the church and the generations who looked after it and handed it on to us, we too value our church both as the place for the Church community to gather and as a sanctuary of prayer and beauty in the heart of the city. This means we care for it and maintain it so that it continues to be a blessing for us and future generations.
One of the most important ways in which we look after our church is by weekly tidying and cleaning etc so that it is always welcoming and ready to receive those who come to pray.
In 2023 we will be carrying out repairs to our building which are external and mostly at high level to keep the church watertight, such are renewing the gutters and downpipes on the church, mending roof of the tower, replacing missing slates on the church, and repairing and repainting the exterior woodwork on the presbytery. We will also be removing the redundant walkway supports between the church and the presbytery. Hopefully this will be taking place in the Summer. Repairs like this are expensive, but if we do not do them in a timely manner they lead to problems which consume a great deal of time and much more money, and stop the building working for us and end up by it working against us.
Like all churches in the diocese, every five years we have an inspection of our property, this is known as the Quinquennial, and a report is produced called the Quinquennial Report which tells us about the condition of our buildings and recommends what work we should be doing to keep them in good repair. The last Quinquennial we had was in 2022 and the report for the church can be read here. The report for the the presbytery and the parish rooms can be read here.
These two documents form the basis of the specification for the works which we aim to do in 2024. The specifications can be found here, one for the church, one for the tower of the church, and one for the presbytery.
We also keep our environment safe, so we make sure we follow health and safety guidance, and have safeguarding measures in place to protect and welcome any children and vulnerable adults who come into our buildings. In doing this we have the support of professionals from the diocese who make sure we are kept up to date with any new regulations and laws and help us know how to comply with our obligations.
The basic guidance of the Catholic Church on safeguarding can be found in a booklet "Caring Safely for Others" which can be read by clicking here.