REGINA | 145
REGINA: I understand the church was purchased in 2012 by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. How did that purchase come about?
Canon Wulfran Lebocq: To answer this question fully, I must recount to you the details of this beautiful story written by hand of Divine Providence.
The Institute of Christ the King has had the joy to serve Ireland since early 2006. At the request of certain faithful, I began coming, monthly, then bi-monthly, to offer the Extraordinary Form of the Mass on the Emerald Isle.
The process of acquiring Sacred Heart Church began then when I first learned that the Jesuits were selling it. You can imagine what the sight of the closure of this magnificent church would do to a Catholic priest coming to Ireland for the first time. If Sacred Heart Church is physically in the heart of Limerick, even more so was it in the very heart of the good people of Limerick.
The initial step to the process was prayer: We began praying, then our religious sisters began praying, and then even the members of our lay branch, the Society of the Sacred Heart, began praying. We all confided our intention to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Many devout locals who had attended every-Friday devotions to the Sacred Heart were orphaned by the closure, but continued their devotions privately.
REGINA: In what condition did you find the complex at that time?
Canon Wulfran Lebocq: When the Jesuit Fathers sold the buildings, they sold everything in it: All the furniture and liturgical items, even the altar and tabernacle, the Stations of the Cross, and the pews. Most distressing was the removal of the statue of the Sacred Heart overlooking the main doors of the church. This feature of the church façade always had been illuminated at night, and cherished by the people of Limerick for many decades.
In 2006, a developer purchased the church, planning to turn the property into a swimming pool and spa. Thanks be to God this project failed because the financial difficulties in Ireland at the time caused the developer to declare bankruptcy.
Heart of Jesus to be reopened for His greater glory and honor.
the structure: First, the paint chips, and then the plaster falls. For Sacred Heart Church, the heating system itself became non-functional after six years of neglect and disuse. The roof of the attached residence had major leaks, which affected two stories of the building, and the broken gutters to broken windows. A tree was growing in one of the confessionals.