Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Charles visits inner-city churches

Inner-city churches in London have opened their doors to the Prince of Wales as he met priests who have made an impact in their communities.

Church of England reverends and Roman Catholic priests met Charles as he visited places of worship in Camden and Kentish Town.

The heir to the throne visited the churches to highlight the work of "grassroots" clergy who have boosted congregation numbers and engaged with their neighbourhoods.

Throughout the day Charles was joined by the Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres, a personal friend and spiritual adviser.

At St Silas, a Roman Catholic church in Kentish Town, led by parish priest Father Graeme Rowlands, who has increased congregation numbers from four when he took up his post in 1989 to more than 100 today, the Bishop praised the work of the cleric.

He said "This is just one of a series of visits the prince has made just to see what the grassroots reality is - parts of London which very often hit the headlines for very different reasons. People are working away year after year in places like this, where very often where we were 10, 20 years ago was tiny congregations and complete demoralisation - so the prince's visit recognises the fact of how much has been achieved."