Work to remove steeple from historic Halifax church begins

Scaffolding on the St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Halifax. (Source: The Concerned Parishioners of St. Patrick’s)

Crews have started the work to remove a steeple from an historic Halifax church over safety concerns.

According to a news release from the Concerned Parishioners of St. Patrick’s, workers have put up scaffolding around the bell tower of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on Brunswick Street. Last June the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth announced it was in the process of determining if it should remove the steeple.

In May the Archdiocese announced both St. Patrick’s and Saint Theresa’s Church would close. The Halifax Regional Municipality temporarily closed the building due to safety concerns in June.

The Concerned Parishioners of St. Patrick’s is challenging the closure by launching an appeal based on Canon Law to Rome. The appeal is still pending.

“We are hopeful that Rome will see our appeal as an effort to continue the work of St. Patrick’s Church to serve the poor and be a symbol of the presence of God in the North End of Halifax,” said spokesperson John Murphy in the release. “This is a tradition that goes back beyond 1885 when the current church building was constructed.”

The release notes the group has contracted with an engineering company to conduct a study of the bell tower and façade of the building to determine their condition.

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