© Franciscan Church
As the church was also in need of constant repair, it was
decided to build a new church at the same location. Dr. Butler, Bishop
of Limerick, laid the foundation stone for a new church on the same site
on May 28th 1876. The builders were Messers. McCarthy and Guerin, and
the architect of the church was William Corbett. This church was completed
in 1886 and is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The church was
extended and enlarged in 1930 when the present apse and sanctuary were
added under the Guardianship of Fr Fridolin Fehily OFM. The architects
were A.E. Jones and S.S. Kelly. The Most Rev. Dr. Keane DD, Bishop of
Limerick on 12 December 1930, consecrated the new high altar. The apse
of the church was not completed until 1942, in which year the lands behind
the church were bought. The church is situated in St
Michael's parish.
While visiting Ireland His Excellency, Most Rev. Giovanni Batista Montini,
who was Papal under-secretary of State, said Mass in the Friary. He was
later to become Pope Paul IV.
The façade of the church consists of four huge limestone pillars,
which support an entablature and pediment. The statues on top of this
are of St Francis, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Anthony. Inside the
church, large granite pillars support the nave. The clerestory consists
of round-headed windows in sets of three, which are also supported by
granite pillars. Around the walls of the clerestory are the words of a
Latin hymn that the Franciscans used to sing.
© Chapel to St Anthony
At the back of the left aisle of the church there is a stained glass
window of St Bernardine of Siena, Italy. St Bernardine is known as the
Apostle of Italy. Next to this is a painting that depicts different scenes
of St Francis' life. It features the town of Assisi, St Francis receiving
the Indulgence of Portiuncula from the Blessed Virgin and St Francis blessing
Assisi before his death. Next, there is a stained glass window to St Louis
of France and there is another stained glass window to St Elizabeth of
Hungary who is Patroness of the Secular Franciscan Order (Third Order).
There is a chapel to St Anthony in the middle of the left-hand aisle
that contains two phrases in Old Gaelic script. One phrase states "St
Anthony preaching to the fish in Rimini". The second phrase commemorates
the Miracle of the Blessed Sacrament.
© Stained Glass Window of St Joseph and Child
Further on this aisle there is a stained glass window to
St Paschal Boylan OFM who was a Franciscan Brother. He is the Patron of
Eucharistic Devotion. Joseph P. Lynch erected this stained glass window
to the memory of the Lynch family. There is a mosaic of St Patrick expelling
the snakes from Ireland. Mary B. Lynch presented this in memory of her
parents and brothers. On the left of the main altar there is an altar
to the Sacred Heart.
© Mosaic of St Patrick and Mosaic Ceiling in Franciscan's Church
The apse of the church is tiled with coloured marbles
and mosaics. The mosaics and marble work were carried out in Venice
and Pietra Santa. The ceiling of the apse depicts the granting of the
Portiuncula Indulgence by Our Lord to St Francis. A number of Franciscan
saints are also depicted on the ceiling of the apse. They are (from
left to right) St Bonaventura, St Bernardine, St Clare, St Agnes, and
St Louis of France and St Elizabeth of Hungary. The central panel shows
Mary Immaculate.
© Altar in Franciscan's Church
To the left of the main altar, there is a statue of St
Joseph and the Infant Jesus, while to the right of the altar, there
is a statue of St Francis. Further right, there is a side altar to the
Immaculate Conception.
In the right aisle near the entrance of the church, there
is a stained glass window of St Leonard of Port Maurice, who was a Franciscan
friar. St Leonard is the patron saint of Missions & Retreats and
he is also responsible for the Devotion of the Stations of the Cross
as we know it today. St Leonard died in 1751.
© Blessed Pope John XIII
On the right wall, there is a stained glass window to
St Anthony and the Child of Jesus. The window was erected by Michael
Coffey in memory of his father John and his sister Augustine, who died
in 1861 and 1889 respectively. There are also stained glass windows
to St Bonaventure, St Claire of Assisi and St Francis. Under the stained
glass window to St Francis, there is a shrine to Blessed Pope John XIII.
© St Bonaventure and St Clare
© St Francis and St Paschal Baylon
There is a stained glass window of the Sacred Heart and
St Margaret Mary Alacoque, which was erected by Catherine Mary Roche
in memory of her parents. St Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French nun
to whom the Sacred Heart revealed the devotion of the First Fridays
and the 12 Promises.
There is also a stained glass window of St Joseph and
the Infant Jesus. Mrs. O'Kelly erected this window in memory of her
husband Daniel who died May 14 1886 and her son Joseph who died on August
1st 1887. There is a shrine to Matt Talbot at the top of the aisle under
this stain glass window.
Towards the top of the right aisle, there is a stained glass window
of Mary ascending into Heaven. Catherine Mary Roche donated this window
to the memory of her husband John who died on November 15 1858. The
window was erected in 1883. The Catholic Literary Institute donated
the statue of St Joseph in 1908, while the statue of St Francis was
erected in 1931.
© Shrine to Matt Talbot
The church has been renovated twice since its completion,
in 1928/30 and in 1968 after the Second Vatican Council. At the base
of the high altar there is Latin inscription on the stone which when
translated reads:
This Church was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary on 18 May 1876 by Most Rev. Dr. Gregory Butler, Bishop
of Limerick.
The Guardian at the time of the dedication was Fr Bonaventure
McDermott OFM.
We would like to thank Br. Bonaventure Ward OFM for giving
us information on the details of the Franciscan church.
|