“Enough masses celebrated in the gym” – breaking latest news

Also this year the parish priest of the Sacred Heart was forced to celebrate Easter mass in the gym. When will the works for the restoration of the church of what is the largest parish of the archdiocese Spoleto-Norcia begin with about seven thousand faithful? To ask the question are some parishioners who have been waiting for the inauguration of the construction site for six years. The church remains fenced with barriers and on the main entrance door there is a large white arrow that indicates the entrance to the gym. In fact, since October 2016, masses have been provisionally celebrated in the church gym, equipped with air conditioning to facilitate the stay of the faithful. The main building was heavily damaged by the earthquake and despite being devoid of historical interest it is among those included in the first design phase for the restoration works that amount to about one million euros. To underline, on more than one occasion, the importance of this church for the large number of faithful it has always hosted was, on several occasions, Archbishop Boccardo who has always placed this intervention among the priorities. Among the 24 projects planned by the archdiocese in the area of ​​the seismic crater, there are three that will concern the city of Spoleto. In addition to the church of the Sacred Heart, the restoration of San Domenico in the historic center and San Giovanni Battista in the hamlet of Protte is planned. As for the Sacred Heart, in the meantime, while awaiting the interventions to make the church accessible again, the works relating to the recovery of the rectory have already been completed for some time. The house of the priests and the rooms for the pastoral activities that had suffered more minor damage than the church are once again available to the faithful. The parish priest has already returned to live in the rectory for about a year, but to celebrate mass in the church he will still have to wait. This situation also penalizes pastoral activities and collateral activities such as sports and various associations that operated within the gym were forced to transfer traders elsewhere. Now, however, apparently the design phase is running out and the countdown towards the start of the works has begun. Only once the restoration has been completed will it be possible to return the gymnasium to the pastoral and sporting activities that have always represented a cornerstone of the parish of the Sacred Heart.