Worshippers win Conwy church closure appeal at Vatican

The last mass at St Michael's Church was celebrated on 11 February 2018

Worshippers at a Catholic church have won their appeal to the Vatican against it being shut down.

The last mass was celebrated at St Michael's and All Angels Church in Conwy on 11 February 2018 and the Bishop of Wrexham declared it closed.

Some churchgoers appealed to the Congregation for the Clergy at the Vatican and have been told their appeal has been successful.

The bishop said the permanent closure of the church cannot take place.

He will now consider the consequences of the decision along with other church officials.

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The parishioners who organised the appeal said they had approached the bishop to discuss what happens next to the church, but would not be commenting while this takes place.

They spent several weeks raising money, getting advice from specialist church lawyers and putting their case together for submission to the Vatican.

Luke Coppen, editor of the Catholic Herald, said it was rare for the Vatican to overrule the closure of a parish church.

"Rome tends to give bishops the benefit of the doubt over decisions within their dioceses, but also because an appeal is a complex process that requires expertise beyond the reach of most parishioners," he said.

However, he said in recent years the Vatican had expressed concerns over closures in the Western world and discouraged bishops from closing and selling off churches and had hosted a conference on the topic.

A spokesman for the Bishop of Wrexham said: "The intended permanent closure of the church cannot currently take place.

"The consequences of that decision have now to be considered by the bishop along with the parish priest, the presbyteral council of the diocese and the diocesan trustees, as well as the parish finance committee and pastoral council."