And many thanks from Fr John Paul Leonard for a lovely final weekend in the parish and for the very generous gift. God bless.

The collection for Fr John Paul raised £1210.

The children were excited because there were so many visitors coming to our new school building. They were coming to take part in a special Mass. This is our way of saying “Thank you” to God for all he has given us, especially our new school home.

Some of our visitors were quite surprising. We expected Monsignor Dasey, the new Vicar General, who was representing Bishop John Crowley because Bishop John is on leave. He was accompanied by Fr Gerard Robinson, the Diocesan Vocations Director. Some of us were surprised to find out that Fr Gerard is an ex-pupil of St Clare’s.

Another ex-pupil of St Clare’s School is Fr John Paul Leonard, Parish Priest of St Clare’s parish, who concelebrated the Mass for the official opening of our new building. He was joined by quite a lot of other priests, including Canon Eddie Gubbins who was Parish Priest at St Clare’s before Fr John Paul.

The very first Parish Priest of St Clare’s also came to our big day. He is Fr Tony Barry, who is now 87 years old and about to celebrate his diamond jubilee, which means he has been a priest for sixty years. He was here with Monsignor Ricardo Morgan, who was Fr Barry’s assistant priest in the early days of St Clare’s parish. Fr Barry and Monsignor Morgan have been best friends since those days.

Fr Barry was one of the most elderly people at our celebration. There were some people who are much younger!