IN September 2006, Peter Tobin's evil deeds thrust the Roman Catholic parish of St Patrick's in Anderston into the national spotlight in the most horrific way. The body of Polish student Angelika Kluk was found - bound and gagged - in an underground chamber close to the confessional box.
She'd been raped and brutally murdered by Tobin who, posing as handyman Pat McLaughlin, had been welcomed with open arms by the church community.
A sense of shock and disbelief set in; Angelika had been a popular addition to the life of the church since her arrival from Poland that summer.
Many who attended Mass in the red sandstone chapel felt their place of worship had been violated in the most shocking way. But incredibly, worse was to come.
During Tobin's trial last year, it emerged that their parish priest Father Gerry Nugent had been an alcoholic who said had conducted a sexual affair with Angelika.
She had also taken a married lover, 40-year old Martin Macaskill.
The heart was knocked out of the parish. The chapel was closed for almost a year and Father Nugent resigned after being convicted of contempt of court.
But a sense of "normality" has now returned.
Canon Robert Hill, drafted in as the new parish priest, said a "healing process" had taken place to allow church members to come to terms with what had happened.
He said: "Every single day, although people are not named, we pray for the living and the dead.
"It is right that Angelika, as someone who played a significant part in the life of the parish, is remembered. We remember the anniversary only in the sense that we remember all people round about the time of their death.
"There are many people who have died in different ways and painful circumstances. One death is as tragic as another."
Canon Hill said there was no way the church could ever forget the gruesome events of two years ago, and no attempt had been made to airbrush them from the parish history.
But he said Angelika's sister, Aneta, let it be known she did not want to retain a connection with the church - and that had been respected.
He added: "I would stress we are not trying to move away from the past.
"What we are doing is taking what we have experienced, living with it and moving forward. You will never forget it happened, never forget the people - but life goes on.
"That is exactly what is happening here. We have managed to re-establish parish life and have a healthy number of people inquiring about becoming church members."
When Canon Hill, who is also priest at St Charles Parish in North Kelvinside, was appointed to St Patrick's, he found a congregation with no church and still in shock.
He added: "There was a fear that the church being closed meant it would not open again.
"Initially, what we were trying to do was see as many people as possible and reassure them because they were all going to different parishes.
"It was a question of me reassuring them that their church would reopen and dealing with the fear that came up.
"Nobody had any experience before - thankfully - of reopening a church under those circumstances.
"Technically the church was not desecrated. The murder had happened outside the church property, so it was not a re- consecration ceremony.
"We had a three-day period of prayer followed by the opening on August 26, 2007.
"The theme was one of healing, hope and trying to move forward."
The church is now well on the way to recovering from the trauma, and there are Sunday morning congregations of between 150 and 170.
Canon Hill said: "A large number of the local people have now come back and it is great to see people coming here from further afield.
"The healing process is about finding a way of getting on with life and that is what we are doing.
"Things have gone so well for us since the reopening. I can only put it down to tremendous goodwill and the prayers of so many people.
"It has come from people who had to do with the church, from other denominations - and from people with no religious background."
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(Source: EN)