Belfast parish gets go-ahead for new church

Lisburn City Council’s Planning Service has given its approval for a much-needed new church to replace the existing Christ the Redeemer Church in Lagmore in west Belfast.

The new church will have more than double the capacity of the existing building which is so inadequate that five Masses sometimes have to be celebrated by one priest on a Sunday.  The population of the area served by Christ the Redeemer is now 8,000 and the present church can only accommodate 250 worshippers.

The new building planned by the parish will be erected at the rear of the church and seat 600 people.

PP Fr John Forsythe described the new church project as “very exciting,” saying it would   make a big difference to the parish.  “Because of the size of the current church, we have five Masses on Sunday morning which is very hard for one priest,” he remarked.

And Fr Forsythe said that when there are First Communions to be held, three separate ceremonies have to be held.

Tenders for the new church will be issued shortly and work on the project is expected to get under way in two months time.

Local Sinn Féin Lisburn City Council member Paul Rafter said the council’s planning committee had supported the proposal on the basis that there had been a considerable amount of new house-building activity in the area for several years and this justified the demand for a bigger church.

Financial Administrator at Christ the Redeemer parish Teresa Johnston, who is spearheading a fund-raising drive to pay for the project, said , “We need a new church because our church - even though we love it and it is very quaint - only holds 250 people.”

by Fintan Deere