Church where serial killer Peter Tobin hid victim's body to close

St Patrick's in Glasgow opened in 1898 and was designed by the renowned London architect Peter Paul Pugin.

A historic Catholic church, known as the site where serial killer Peter Tobin concealed the body of one of his victims, is due to close.

St Patrick's in Glasgow, which sits opposite the M8 at Anderston, opened in 1898 and was designed by the renowned London architect Peter Paul Pugin.

It is one of the few 19th Century buildings remaining in the area following urban clearances in the 1960s to make way for the new motorway.

But its history has been marred by the now deceased Tobin, who murdered Polish student Angelika Kluk in 2006 and hid her under the floorboards.

Ms Kluk, 23, had been living and working at the church to fund her studies in Gdańsk.

The discovery of her body was the thing that led to Tobin being unmasked as a serial killer.

A date has yet to be set for St Patrick's closure.

The Archdiocese of Glasgow said it was one of a number of churches across the city with congregations too small to cover the cost of large repair bills.

Taken in by the church

Ms Kluk had been working as a cleaner in the church when she went missing on 24 September 2006.

About six weeks earlier, Tobin - a convicted sex offender - had been taken in by the parish priest and been given odd jobs to do, while using the name Pat McLaughlin.

He described Ms Kluk as his "wee apprentice" - she had been helping him paint a shed on the day she disappeared.

Angelika Kluk, 23, was Peter Tobin's final victim

Hours after being questioned by police, Tobin vanished and his photo was released to the media.

During a search of the church, an expert noticed an imperfection in the floor which exposed a hatch. It covered a vault containing Ms Kluk's body.

DNA recovered at the scene produced a match for Tobin, and although he had moved to London in an attempt to cover his tracks, he was recognised by a hospital nurse from media coverage.

Peter Tobin was convicted of murder in 2007

In March 2007 Tobin went on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, where, after six weeks of evidence, the jury took just under four hours to find him guilty for the rape and murder of Ms Kluk.

He died in 2022 while also serving life terms at HMP Edinburgh for the murders of Vicky Hamilton, 15, and Dinah McNicol, 18.

The church was temporarily closed after Angelika Kluk's body was discovered under floorboards in autumn 2006

St Patrick's remained closed months after the case concluded and parishioners doubted it would ever reopen.

Archbishop Mario Conti blessed the church during a special service when it was formally reopened in August 2007.

Why is St Patrick's closing?

Though St Patrick's history is unique, its closure comes against a backdrop of Scotland's sacred buildings being sold off.

Both the Catholic church and the Church of Scotland say the sales are necessary because of changing congregations and financial issues.

Many communities have attempted - and failed - to buy their local churches with sales happening quickly.

Community Land Scotland recently shared concerns that the Church of Scotland was "looking at short-term financial returns and not considering the damage it may do to its own legacy".

St Patrick's would need about £2m in repairs to secure a long-term future, according to the Glasgow archdiocese.

It currently has a congregation of about 100 across two Sunday masses, with less than 10 attending week day masses.

The archdiocese said it had also lost six priests this summer to retirement or ill health, with no ordinations to replace them.

Parishioners have been aware that closure was a possibility for some time - the archdiocesan estates department was looking at options to turn St Patrick's into flats or a hotel last year.

No preferred developer has yet been identified.

A spokesman for the archdiocese said: "If and when planning permission is obtained the intention is to sell the site with planning permission to a suitable third party developer who can take the whole project forward.

"However, given the church is a listed building any new development would be likely to be based on the area currently occupied by the house and gardens."

St Patrick's is designed in early decorated Gothic style and has a striking altar made of white marble.