Our Lady of Fatima, Bala

Introduction

Our Lady of Fatima in Bala, in the Diocese of Wrexham, was established in 1946 in a former stables to the rear of a chip shop. The church opened for worship on 15 June 1948 and is understood to be the first church outside of Portugal to be dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. The building is believed to have early origins and was the location of the first Welsh Baptist service in Wales. The Chapel survives as the oldest known Catholic church building in the Wrexham Diocese.

History

There had been a Catholic presence in Bala in the C19 when a visiting Jesuit priest from Ruthin said Mass there, ending around the 1870s. In 1932 the town was served with regular visiting priests from Dolgellau, with services held in the Victoria Hall. Around 1935 Fr Eric Green, a parish priest at Dolgellau, purchased a site near Bala Lake and drew up plans for a permanent church, but this church was never built. In 1946 the town acquired its first full time parish priest, Fr James Koenen OP, a Dutch Dominican.

The work to convert it for use as a church was largely undertaken by Koenen and his parishioners. Advice had been sought on the works from Geoffrey Webb, Professor of Art History at the Slade School of Fine Art. His recommendation to appoint either Sebastian Comper or William Henry Randoll Blacking as architects was not taken up. The opening was attended by the Portuguese Vice-Consul and the Consuls-General for Panama, Chile and Salvador.

Architecture and furnishings

The interior has raised cruck roof trusses and studding exposed in the gable end of sanctuary. The walls are lined with concrete slabs with wide joints to the base of the trusses. The sanctuary is raised up one step, with oak panelled walls and a table altar installed after the Second Vatican Council, 1962-5.

The oak statue of Our Lady of Fatima was carved by José Ferreira Thedim who made one for the Fatima Basilica. The statue stands in a shrine lined with Welsh slate.

The church has a carved oak statue of St Jude at the west end. The church has circular ceramic Stations of the Cross. The church has an octagonal font of carved painted stone at the east end of the nave. Pine benches are said to have been acquired by the parish priest from a local Methodist chapel.

The tabernacle plinth and tabernacle with crucifix above were carved by Ferreira Thedun. The church occupies a lower former stable, single storey and five bays, with a timber bellcote above the eaves to the left.

Visiting

The shrine of Our Lady of Fatima features Welsh slate detailing and stained glass depicting the spinning sun of Fatima. The side chapel or shrine has slate lined walls, a stained glass window, and a statue of Our Lady of Fatima.