Bishop opens new Oratory at St Joseph’s Boys School Derry

The event, due to take place in March this year, had to be postponed due to Covid-19 and Tuesday’s celebration took place with a limited number in attendance. However, the school will make the recording available online on St Joseph’s Boys’ School Facebook page from next week.

Bishop McKeown was assisted by Fr. Joseph Gormley, St. Mary’s and Fr. Patrick Lagan, school chaplain, and in addressing the attendance he said: “St. Joseph’s Boys School has served this community faithfully for many decades. It is a joy for me to see the 2020 school keen to make space for silence and prayer in order to support the students and staff in negotiating the many modern challenges they face.

“This is a real tribute to the past and a statement of hope in looking forward.”

A guard of honour from Year 14 students greeted the Bishop upon arrival at the school for what Principal, Martina McCarron described as a ‘landmark in the history of St. Joseph’s Boys School.’

The Principal said: “It is a great privilege and honour to have Bishop Donal McKeown and the priests from the Parish of St Eugene’s and St Mary’s, Creggan here today to celebrate our Dedication Mass and blessing of our new oratory dedicated to the Patron Saint of our school.”

Acknowledging the generous support from the many groups who contributed, Mrs. McCarron continued: “This means so much to us all – pupils, staff and the wider school community. St Joseph’s Oratory represents who we are and what we do as a school. It is an embodiment of our Catholic ethos and tradition. The Oratory will provide an explicit space where all of our pupils, staff and the wider community can have a sense of nearness and closeness to God.

“The Oratory has been much-needed to support faith promotion, prayer, liturgical events, quiet reflection a sanctuary for all in our school. For this great gift to the school, we wish to acknowledge the generous support that we have received to make this a reality. We would particularly like to acknowledge the contribution of the former St Peter’s High School and the work and achievements of the Christian Brothers, lay staff and pupils as a school in the Creggan Community and beyond and the resulting gift to St Joseph’s from the Creggan Parish. One of our new stain glass windows pays tribute to St Peter’s High School with an illustration of the ancient Broighter boat used as a symbol by the school to represent St Peter, the Fisherman.”

Mrs. McCarron also noted the return as another beautiful gift, of the altar and tabernacle used by the late Bishop Edward Daly which was originally made by the pupils of the school, describing it as an honour to have these back again as a central part of the new oratory.

“It is also fitting to mention the great gift we have received from the Sisters of Mercy, of the beautiful stain glass window depicting St Joseph; this window is the work of Harry Clarke (1889 to 1931) who was undoubtedly Ireland’s greatest stained-glass artist. A true treasure to have been donated to the school.”

She also paid tribute to the pupils and described how their work was now woven into the fabric of the oratory with their own designs being used to create the new stain glass windows with symbols representing what St Joseph’s and their community means to them – workers tools, the oak leaf and the dove of peace. Concluding, the Principal paid tribute to “the parishes and communities of St Eugene’s and St Mary’s, contractors Stewart and McConnell, O’Neill’s Joinery, Alpha Glass and architect Eoghan Devery - we say a big thank you and we look forward to sharing this beautiful space with our pupils, staff and our local communities in the years ahead.”