Church construction begins

Saint Ritas Father David and Bishop John from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nelson offer a blessing as they break ground on the new building.

image credit: Betsy Kline

Betsy kline

Castlegar News

More than a year and a half since their building was destroyed by fire, Saint Ritas Catholic Church has begun construction on a new building.

Settling with the insurance company, getting approval from the diocese and making sure the proper permits were in place has taken much time. The architect of the project is Fairbank Architects from Nelson and Hil-Tech Contracting from Trail will be doing the construction.

The long process has involved much consultation and planning and has been open to the entire parish. Father David John explained, One of my objectives with the design process was that we would not just design a church, but that it would be a church for the people of Castlegar. The congregation was given the opportunity to vote on the final design.

Father David is hoping that they can have their first service on the Feast of Pentecost at the end of May.

He explained the symbolism it would represent, It is the feast of the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is saying we have our new church and we are hoping that it is not just a building, but it will be a place where God resides and where people can come and meet God in some way.

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Church construction begins