Vatican turns down appeal to save Derry church

A group of Catholic parishioners in Derry have vowed to continue a campaign to save their parish church despite a Vatican ruling supporting moves to close the place of worship.

Parishioners at Culmore in Derry were left homeless when the Derry diocese chose to close the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the grounds of the city’s former Thornhill college. The move followed a decision by owners of the church and former Thornhill Convent, the Sisters of Mercy to sell off the building in 2022.

The Catholic faithful of Culmore have taken a stand against the move, securing the support of more than 1,350 parishioners in a campaign to save the church. Parishioners appealed the decision to close the church to the Vatican but received news this week that the Derry Diocese decision was to be upheld.

A spokesperson for the parishioners said: “Words are totally inadequate to express our heartfelt sorrow that the Vatican has turned down our appeal. Our barrister and legal team believed we had sufficient grounds to win the appeal and the rejection has come as a devastating blow.”

The Vatican Canon Law decision rested on the description of the church as an “oratory” rather than a “parish church”. Parishioners argued that the Church of the Immaculate Conception was a parish church. However, the Vatican accepted an argument from the Derry diocese that it was an oratory. 

“We submitted more than 100 witness statements to the contrary. The clue is in the title, as the road sign and former bulletins read ‘Thornhill Church ’ and not Thornhill Oratory.”

We already have three Parishioners willing to buy the property and restore it to a place of worship. We look forward to participating in the sale which surely must be widely publicised.

We have not given up hope. Following the disappointing news we intend to hold a public meeting of Culmore Parishioners.

We must also pay tribute to the dedicated Parishioners of Culmore who raised £690,000 to build a new Church in 2011. Unfortunately a decision was taken not to proceed with the new build. A sizeable amount of that money has been spent on other things which is being currently investigated by the Charity Commission.