The founding director
of Ottawa's writers festival pitches a novel way to save Lowertown's historic Catholic church, writes Patrick Dare.
By Patrick
Dare, The Ottawa Citizen
Published:
Monday, July 24, 2006
Historic
St. Brigid's Catholic Church could be saved by a generous infusion of arts, culture and ticket-buying audiences, says a longtime
Ottawa arts organizer.
Neil Wilson, founding director of the Ottawa International Writers
Festival, says St. Brigid's, the 116-year-old church built by Ottawa's Irish immigrants -- which could be closed by Archbishop
Marcel Gervais -- is "a great mid-sized venue" for arts and culture. The church has seating for 800, is a beautiful setting
because of its extensive and ornate artwork, has a 1910 Casavant organ, much stained glass and a lot of wood that gives sound
a rich tone. In the church hall, there's a stage and kitchen.
Situated on Murray Street, in the popular Lowertown neighbourhood
of Ottawa, the church would be an ideal location for concerts, readings and theatrical presentations, said Mr. Wilson.
"The
acoustics are phenomenal in there. You don't need a microphone," said Mr. Wilson, who believes the setting would be ideal
for operatic solos, organ recitals, chamber music and even jazz.
He
met with Archbishop Gervais a couple of months ago and said the archbishop was receptive, even enthusiastic, but that he wants
someone or some organization to buy the church so that it's no longer a financial burden to the Archdiocese of Ottawa.
The
archbishop has angered parishioners at St. Brigid's by decreeing that the parish pastor, Rev. Pedro Arana, will be transferred
to nearby Assumption Parish in Vanier and the church will be sold. The archdiocese argues it doesn't have the money to maintain
any more big churches in the central area of the city that need a lot of renovation work. And the archdiocese points out that
there's plenty of space for parishioners at nearby Notre Dame Cathedral.
The
restoration of St. Brigid's, which is a protected heritage building, has been estimated to cost $2.4 million and there's urgent
need for a new roof. The congregation of the parish has raised close to $200,000 so far in a restoration fund. Last week,
lawyers for some of the parishioners filed a court application seeking to stop the archbishop from closing the parish.
David
Flemming, the president of Heritage Ottawa, said using the church as performance space is exactly the kind of adaptive re-use
of the building that can keep it going. He said you can have cultural events during the week and church services on the weekend.
He
said he sympathizes with the Archdiocese of Ottawa, which has spent millions of dollars on restoration of two of its big churches
downtown, Notre Dame Cathedral and St. Patrick's Basilica. And he doesn't want to assume that the parishioners cannot continue
to make progress, raising money for the restoration of St. Brigid's.
But
if the church runs into trouble, "with a little imagination and a little will, something can come up."
Mr.
Flemming said the St. Brigid's issue reflects a wider problem for churches in Canada: Dwindling congregations in large, deteriorating
heritage buildings. But he said in Ottawa, there are examples of churches that have made alliances with the Chamber Music
Festival to use their buildings for concerts and generate some revenue.
Mr.
Wilson said that if St. Brigid's is booked regularly for performances and events, he believes the church can generate millions
of dollars in gross revenues, some of which could be used for restoration of the building.
He
says part of the cultural use of the church could include a modest stage near the altar and perhaps even a coffee shop. He
stressed that everything, including the nature of the concerts and care of the interior space of the church, would be carried
out with due respect for the Catholic faith to "maintain the sacredness of it." For instance, there would be certain holy
days where the church would only be used for masses and prayer services.
Mr.
Wilson said what he doesn't want to see is the property gobbled up by developers, or left vacant to deteriorate.
He
said the people of Ottawa have an obligation to act to save the church.
“We can’t let this fall apart,” said Mr. Wilson. “It’s a beautiful place.”
