Institute of Christ the King Kicked Out of an English Church
Archbishop Malcolm McMahon of Liverpool invited the Roman Rite Institute of Christ the King to take over that church.
McMahon has a reputation of being rather friendly towards the Mass and has already celebrated it himself.
But recently, the Archbishop's invitation came to an abrupt end. At the Mass on 7 July, Canon Cristofoli of the Institute said that he had been told the day before that it would be the final Mass.
He explained that the archdiocese had decided not to hand over the pastoral care to the Institute because of unspecified "financial considerations".
The Institute had offered to buy the church and a house in Wigan for the priests to live in: "This offer has been rejected by the trustees of the archdiocese."
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Liverpool added: "Archbishop Malcolm has written to the Institute to thank them for the time they have so generously given to help us to discern the future of St Mary's Church. They will no longer celebrate Mass at St Mary's. There will be a Mass at St Mary's every Saturday evening at 5pm".
Parishioners fear that the church will be closed down. The faithful pleaded for the Institute to stay, but according to WiganToday.net (16 July), the archdiocese refused.
Picture: Michael Durnan Photography, #newsZuhxcbjesc