St Albert the Great
RC Parish Church
St Albert’s
is one of 105 parishes in the Archdiocese of Glasgow, serving the Catholic
population of Pollokshields under the leadership of Archbishop Mario
Conti.
Central
to the life of the church is the preaching of the Gospel, which finds
its liturgical expression in the celebration of the sacraments, most
especially in the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist.
The parish
was founded in 1965 to serve the growing Catholic community of Pollokshields,
but the building itself has a much longer history.
The church
was opened for public worship in October 1887, built at a cost of £8845
as the new home of Stockwell Free Church, which had transferred to Pollokshields
from its origins in Saltmarket. When the union of the Free churches
and the United Presbyterian was enacted in 1900 the title became Albert
Road United Free Church.
Next,
in the Union of 1929 with the Church of Scotland the phrase ‘United
Free’ lapsed and its new title, with the change of street designation,
became Albert Drive Church.
By the
early sixties, numbers had declined to the extent that in March 1965
the congregation voted to amalgamate with nearby Pollokshields East
church, forming the new Pollokshields Parish Church.
Thus the
building became available at the very time when the neighbouring Catholic
parishes of Holy Cross, Our Lady and St Margaret’s and St Mary’s,
Pollokshaws, were finding it difficult to cope with the influx of Catholic
families into the area.
After negotiations
with the trustees of the vacated Albert Drive church, a new Catholic
parish was established and in September 1965 Fr (later Canon) Patrick
Brady was appointed as the first Parish Priest of St. Albert’s,
Pollokshields.
Fr Brady’s
first task was to oversee the renovation and adaptation of the church
for Catholic worship, and on Sunday 9th April 1967 Archbishop James
Donald Scanlan performed the Solemn Opening of the church of St Albert
the Great.
In its
40 year history the parish has had three parish priests, Canon Brady
for 25 years until his retirement in 1990, when Canon Sean Bennett was
appointed. On his retirement in 2001 Fr John Gannon took up his post
as the present parish priest.
St Albert’s
is blessed with many active parishioners who play a full part in the
activities of the parish. We have a strong SVDP conference, playing
a vital role in the support of the poorest in society, and running ventures
such as Tuesday social clubs in the winter.
A large
and active Parish council oversee many aspects of Parish life, with
the social committee contributing to various initiatives throughout
the year to foster the social side of the parish. The children’s
liturgy group at the 11am Sunday mass endeavour to bring the faith alive
for our children, getting involved in projects such as providing Christmas
gifts for the children of prisoners in Barlinnie.
The church
buildings also play host to groups as Cubs, Scouts and Beavers; Tai
chi classes; AA meetings; and a charismatic prayer group.
