The Stone Church Restoration Society has hit a major roadblock in its battle to save Cape Breton’s historic St. Alphonsus Church.
Victoria Mines residents are concerned the 99-year-old church will be torn down if sold to another group, so the society has been lobbying to take ownership of St. Alphonsus for over a year.
“There’s so many people here that are interested and it’s such a lovely tourist attraction, and that’s one of the main things we want to ensure, is that it will always remain a tourist attraction and a piece of heritage,” says Melanie Sampson of the Stone Church Restoration Society.
The society has made three offers to purchase the property, but now the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish says the group doesn’t have a business plan and might not be able to maintain the building, so while St. Alphonsus Church is for sale, it’s not for sale to them.
“We’ve been wanting to get a business plan from them and the business plan would indicate what they’re going to do with the building and how they were going to finance it,” says Donald MacGillivray, a spokesperson for the diocese.
The diocese had wanted to demolish the church, which Sampson says would have cost more than $30,000, but now it is asking nearly $50,000 to purchase the property.
“That’s what we think the building is valued at, I mean, if someone else will buy it and use it, or buy it and demolish it,” says MacGillivray.
The church means a lot to former parishioner Bill White, who has family buried nearby. He hopes the society is successful in its bid to take ownership of the property.
“It means something to them and it means so much to them that they’re willing to do anything to save it,” says White.
The group is still waiting to hear from the diocese about its latest offer.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore
