October update
Plans for our new church continue apace. With the renewed and vehement restrictions once again placed on the celebration of the Tridentine liturgy and the general malaise generated by the avant-garde positions and declarations of Church authorities, more souls are turning to the Society of Saint Pius X for guidance and help. As our Superior General recently wrote: « The Society of Saint Pius X has the duty to assist all those souls who are currently in dismay and are confused. Firstly, we have the duty to offer them the certitude that the Tridentine Mass can never disappear from the face of the earth. This is an absolutely necessary sign of hope. Moreover, each of us, whether priest or faithful, must extend a warm helping hand to them, for he who has no desire to share the riches he enjoys is, in all truth, unworthy of possessing them. » The new church building comes, therefore, at a crucial time. It will be a testimony to the fact that the Tridentine Mass will always be available to hungry souls.
This month we will submit the planning application. We have been working hard to finalise both the design and its technical aspects in order to facilitate planning permission. It is a challenge to fit all our needs into what is turning out to be a very tight budget. We are not simply replacing an existing space, but creating additional space for a proper sanctuary, two side altars and twin sacristies. There is also a new road and parking area behind the church and a new toilet block.
The planning application contains details of a building that is large enough to make a substantial difference to our present chapel. Its price, however, places us at an estimated 12% over budget. In order not to stall the project, nor take on additional financial risk, the building has been designed in such a manner that it can be easily be scaled down to the initial budget if additional funds cannot been found. We are thus able to continue the planning and design process despite the uncertainty of the church's final size. A decision will then be taken to delay the project or build smaller.
To date, just under £200, 000 has been collected, which brings available funds to £1.2M. There remains the hefty sum of £800, 000 yet to be found. The Society is unable to increase its own contribution of £1M due to important building repairs about to begin in Bristol and Woking.
As with every church built to the honour and glory of God, our project depends on small and large donations to become a reality. It also depends on our prayer and fervour, which is why I invite you to include in your family prayers a special invocation to Saint Joseph, patron of the Universal Church and heavenly project manager. Our needs are real, God's generosity is real and so must our sacrifices be real, that is, substantial. God will certainly reward those who dig deep into their pockets, however shallow, to help house His holy presence in the tabernacle. If you are unable to donate materially to the project, please consider donating spiritually, by way of some small sacrifice offered to God.