In 2009, Bishop O’Reilly described the shock at the level of destruction caused by the fire as “like a dagger in the heart of the diocesan family”.
However, following the completion of the renovation programme he said, “I feel extremely happy today about this, for the people of Longford and the diocese most of all. They are going to have their cathedral back.”
He recalled that a recent visitor to the cathedral wrote, “Seeing the transformation from a scene of total devastation just five years ago to the recreation of a beautiful cathedral, balancing the historical with the contemporary, one can see and sense the thought, creativity, passion, craftsmanship, blood, sweat and tears that have been put into every aspect of this astonishing restoration.”
According to Bishop O’Reilly, there was one more word that should be added to what the people of Longford brought to the cathedral restoration – “enthusiasm”.
“The people really wanted the project to succeed and succeed well. That was important,” he said.
He said he would like to feel that in time to come Longford people would continue to feel good about the Cathedral which has been their great source of pride in the past.
“They will be unlikely to forget that the restoration was done in the very worst of these recent years in Ireland.”
In his address, Fr Tom Healy, Administrator of St Mel’s recalled that in the wake of the disaster of 2009, “an amazing reaction of community support and goodwill amid the shared grief.”
While celebrations over the rise of Longford’s phoenix have been widespread across the midlands, the retired bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois was pragmatic.
“The Cathedral restoration is done and even dusted. At this time the question that I was asked in 2009 can be addressed again. What does the future hold for St Mel’s Cathedral? We are sure, that barring some calamity it will stand the test of time. The building of the Cathedral has been completed to the highest standards.”
But he added, the “building of a cathedral does not stop when it is ready for use”.
The restored St Mel’s Cathedral Longford. Pic: John McElroy/Catholic Communications Office Maynooth.
“A family home has people ready to move in when built. Schools have teachers and pupils ready to fill their rooms. St Mel’s Cathedral does not demand that people come in. It must attract not compel. We must invite people to come in through open doors,” he said.
Linking the reopening of St Mel’s with renewal in the Irish Church, Bishop O’Reilly noted that Pope Francis has been “very emphatic” in saying that “our churches should have their doors open”.
“The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open. One concrete sign of such openness is that our church doors should always be open, so that if someone, moved by the Spirit, comes there looking for God, he or she will not find a closed door.”
“We are all called to show the Church is the home for all. Are we capable of communicating the image of such a Church?”
