A community campaign is underway in Fahan following the cancellation of Saturday Vigil Masses in the Parish church.
From this week onwards, there will no longer be any 7.15pm Mass in the weekly schedule at St Mura’s in Fahan.
The closest Saturday Vigil will continue at St Aengus’ in Burt at 6pm.
Buncrana parish priest Fr Francis Bradley said the decision was “regrettable” and a necessary step due to the lack of available priests.
Speaking at the last vigil Mass in Fahan on Saturday, Fr Bradley said the arrangement will be for the foreseeable future. “If we have more priests appointed to us, I guess we could re-engage with the Vigil Mass,” he told the congregation.
“The priesthood is not able to serve any more than we can,” he said.
Following recent retirements and the passing of local priests, including the death of Castlefin’s priest in residence, Fr Oliver Crilly, the Diocese of Derry now has eight unfilled positions.
The schedule change in Fahan has resulted in concerns locally over road safety as congregation numbers look set to rise at Burt Chapel.
Burt Chapel – By Declan McGuinness/Twitter
A committee of approx 10 people has formed with the aim of engaging with the Parish to have the Vigil returned to Fahan.
They have cited road safety concerns at Burt Chapel, where there are fewer parking spaces than Mura’s Chapel in Fahan.
They say the Burt chapel, which sits adjacent to the main N13 road, presents safety risks for those who park on the roadside, particularly those with limited mobility or families with young children.
The committee has so far gathered more than 500 signatures through a petition, which is being circulated in-person and online, calling for the continuation of Saturday Vigil Mass at St Mura’s.
Michael Andrew Bonner, a committee member, said he hoped that the petition’s support shows there is community backing for Fahan as a safer option for the Mass, rather than it being a campaign only from a few.
“As a person of 27 years old, I have seen multiple friends lost to roads in our community in my years and feel it is at the very least in my capacity and resources at my disposal to try and not add to it,” Bonner said.
Bonner stressed that there is no issue with Burt Chapel, but the addition of up to 200 Mass-goers presents concerns about access and parking.
Fr Bradley last week asked for patience and prayer that the situation in the parish would improve.
He stated that he did not look forward to the closure of a Mass that is so well attended.
“In the intervening weeks, various alternatives have been proposed, of alternating Masses week about, or month about, but the anecdotal evidence of where that has been tried is that people only attend Mass every other week or every other month, only when it is convenient,” Fr Bradley said.
“We are not a convenience store, we are a church, we are here to worship God.”
“I do apologise for the inconvenience that this causes, but it is the simple reality in which we live,” he said.
Fr Bradley added that the reasoning behind the decision will become more clear in the future, alluding to more changes in the future.
“It’s not because we wish to do less, it’s because when everything is in place and when further changes affecting both of us (Fr Bradley and Fr Baker) take place in the coming months, perhaps this will be more understandable,” he said.
“I am disappointed that, in the end, that it wasn’t the parish church that retained the vigil Mass, that is in the hope that it will be the Parish church that retains Mass on a Sunday morning, because that is what the cold choices will have to be.”
