A former bordello and music hall owned by one of Casanova's
mistresses is perhaps an unlikely site for one of Britain's oldest Roman
Catholic churches, St Patrick's, which sits amid the bright lights and
fleshpots of London's Soho.
"It is not a conventional parish,"
observes Father Alexander Sherbrooke, who has overseen a 14-month, £3.5m
project to restore the church and rid it of the damage caused by damp,
dry rot, urban pollution, incense and candlelight.
It reopens this week
with a specially composed Magnificat from James MacMillan and a mass
from Cardinal George Pell, who is flying in from Rome for the occasion.
The
traditional nature of the celebrations – vespers and canticles –
highlights the contrast between the orthodoxy of St Patrick's and what
lies outside it.
Sherbrooke says: "You get a knock on the door and
it can be someone who is successful in business, someone who wants a
sandwich or someone caught up in the sex industry. We leave our SOS
prayer line calling cards in telephone boxes – where you might see other
services advertised.
"One man who called said he was a pimp and
wanted to break out of his occupation but that it was too lucrative for
him to leave. Do we just accept the way people are? People get into ruts
they find it difficult to break out of. We can say, as Christians, that
God can and does intervene."
He is honest, however, about the
extent to which the Catholic faith can appeal and transform.
St
Patrick's is near Old Compton Street, a hub for gay men and lesbians in
that part of London. When asked what kind of relationship he has with
business owners he is tactful.
"The most important thing is we keep our
door open. Church teaching on homosexuality is very clear. But it's a
very polite relationship. As they wouldn't want to convert me, I don't
go round looking to convert them. There is a respect, agreeing to
disagree."
There are some gay men that attend mass, but the main constituency for St Patrick's is the capital's migrant population.
The
restoration work includes the creation of a crypt, classrooms and a
cafe. St Patrick's and a team of volunteers feed 80 to 90 homeless
people a week with the Groucho – a private members' club – supplying the
puddings.
The work to the church will allow the team to cook and
serve food from one location instead of having to prepare the meals in
their own kitchens and drive them into central London.
Space will
also be provided for alcohol and drug counselling.
St Patrick's will be
the only Roman Catholic church offering this service in London.
Inside
– despite the scaffolding – the church is airy, clean and light. It is
the vision of the Spanish architect Javier Castañón, who is more
familiar with designing conference centres, halls of residence and
high-end apartments.
St Patrick's was built on the site of
Carlisle House, a mansion bought by Casanova's mistress Teresa Cornelys,
who went bankrupt running a music hall and allegedly a brothel there.
It
was one of the first Roman Catholic churches to be built after the
Catholic Relief Acts of 1778 and 1791, which brought freedom of teaching
and worship, and ministered to Irish people in the area.
The
Irish have gone but migrant communities continue to be the lifeblood of
the parish.
On a typical Sunday St Patrick's – or rather its temporary
location at the House of St Barnabas – will attract around 700 people to
five services, two in English, one in Spanish, one in Portuguese and
one in Cantonese.
Alexander says: "In this part of London you
don't have resident parishioners. There are tourists who know we are
here and workers. It is a place where they can rest their weary feet.
There is a little bit of bucking the trend going on. The loneliness of
this city is more intense than you can imagine. Soho has a darkness as
well as the bright lights."
Parishioners believe the church is
important to Soho and to London.
Pauline Stuart, who has been part of St
Patrick's for nine years, says: "We're not the establishment – we can
do things that Westminster Cathedral can't. I do get comments sometimes –
you know, 'what's a nice girl like you believing in all that mumbo
jumbo'. But for me it's true. I don't care whether they convert or not.
That's God's problem."