Intimate prayer space planned for church
A new and intimate space for people to reflect and pray is to be created in Saint John the Baptist Church in Tyone, Nenagh.
The Parish Council is set to embark on a fundraising campaign to section off a small part of the front of the main aisle and the two side aisles with retractable partitions to create a much smaller area for prayer that will be heated throughout the week and furnished with comfortable seating.
The plan, which will include the provision of toilet facilities at the main entrance of the church and a meeting room/kitchenette to the rear, marks the first major construction works on the site since the church was first opened just over 50 years ago.
Nenagh Parish Priest Fr Des Hillery said it was a fitting time to improve facilities and make the church more inviting after a half century in existence.
“What we are trying to create is a space that is a little bit more appealing and warmer and pleasant where people can sit and reflect and be peaceful in prayer,” said Fr Hillery.
In doing so the church would have a new an intimate oratory that people could visit at any time. The partitions could be pulled back to restore the church to its original size on Saturdays and Sundays to facilitate weekend Masses or for any other occasion such as a funeral or wedding.
“The church was built in the late 1960s and it answered the needs of that time when there used to be Mass celebrated every day, but times are different now,” said Fr Hillery.
Outside of the Mass times at weekends, the church is now used mainly by people for personal prayer, particularly by those in the immediate community of Tyone and by patients and visitors from the adjacent hospital.
The Parish Council feels that creating a more intimate and comfortable area for prayer will address the spiritual needs of not only these people, but the future residents of the new Saint Conlon's Home which is planned for construction on a site nearby.
Fr Hillery said creating the new facilities would be a fitting way to mark the half century of the opening of the church. Those celebrations had to be postponed last year due to Covid restrictions, but it is hoped to host the event in October this year in a joint celebration that will also mark the 125th anniversary of the opening of Saint Mary of the Rosary Church in the town.
Work on the changes at Saint John the Baptist Church were due to start this month but have had to be postponed due to the Level 5 Covid restrictions. The Parish Council is hoping that those restrictions will be eased in April and that work can then get underway.