Opening of St Paul's Holy Shop

Derry Journal

14/03/2025

Opening of St Paul's Holy Shop in Derry Shipquay street.

Transcript

00:00Donal McEwan. Morning. Donal McEwan, Bishop of the Diocese of Derry.

00:14And can you tell me what we're doing here today?

00:17Okay, there was a bookshop called Veritas that used to be here. It was sort of the Irish

00:21Catholic publishing company. And they've been going through a difficult time over this past

00:26few years. And they closed down. And now the St. Paul Fathers have taken on relaunching

00:34this. And I hope today celebrates not just gratitude for the past, but also hope for

00:40the future. Because I think there's a huge need for good news. A lot of people are suffering

00:45out there, whether it's poverty, or just sheer despair, and they're looking for meaning in

00:51life. So I hope this can become a place that both looks after people's need for, shall

00:56we say, what we call sacramentals, statues, and holy pictures, and that sort of thing,

01:00but also enables people to grow in their understanding of faith so that we can engage in conversation

01:05with our modern culture, which is constantly changing. So I hope first of all, it can be

01:09the beginning of a new service to help our society, and not just sort of knowledge Catholics.

01:16The second thing is one of the Paulist Fathers has done his doctorate on digital marketing.

01:23So I hope we actually can relaunch it in a new way, seeking to engage with our society,

01:27not just through books and religious objects, but also through engaging on that level. We

01:33have a certain tradition here since the beginning of COVID, of doing a lot of work from the

01:37Cathedral Hall online with podcasts and interviews, engagement with schools and so on. So I hope

01:43it can be a fruitful collaboration between ourselves and the new shop here to maximise

01:48the opportunities for engaging with our society digitally, as well as physically.

01:52So can you tell me about some of the emotions of the day, about the Granary?

01:56I think people are delighted to see the place here. It's a very attractive layout inside

02:01the shop initially. It's in a very prominent street here on Shipkey Street, and I hope

02:05it will be of service to bring good news and hope to the society. That's why I'm glad to be here in my role as Bishop.

02:12Perfect.

02:13Introduce yourself please.

02:23My name's Marie Brown and I'm the manager of the new St Paul's store here in Derry.

02:26Can you tell me what we're doing here today?

02:28We're just inaugurating the centre, St Paul's Mission, and the Bishop is going to give us

02:33a wee blessing and we're just going to have a wee bit of food and entertainment.

02:37And what's it like opening the day? Is there a movement going on today?

02:40There is, because Veritas closed back in November last year, and the people of Derry

02:45were devastated as it was badly needed in the town as a centre of mission and prayer.

02:50And then St Paul's decided to take us over, so we're delighted to have them present here

02:55back in the city, where we need the prayers and the faith to get us through life.

03:01Is it important that you have a place like this so close in the heart of the city centre?

03:06It's very important, yes, it is indeed. I think now with the struggles that's going on in the world today,

03:11that faith is a very important part of that, and if we've someone determined like God,

03:16or the mission that we follow in Jesus, then it is very important, yes.

03:21Could you introduce yourself please?

03:22I'm Father Thomas, belonging to the religious order called St Paul's, or the Society of St Paul.

03:30What are we doing here today?

03:33I stay in Maynooth, and it's my fifth year in Ireland, and I enjoy my stay here in Ireland,

03:40dealing with people, and try to do my best to spread the gospel and reach out to people with our mission.

03:48And can you tell me, what kind of emotions are you feeling today, seeing the shop open?

03:52You know, when Veritas announced its closure, closing of the shop, then the people from Derry,

04:00they wrote to me personally asking if there is any possibility for St Paul's to open a shop here,

04:06because it's our mission, our charism, to have a religious store, and reach out to people with Bibles,

04:14prayer books, good literature, and religious gifts items.

04:18And we accepted that invitation from Derry, the heart of Derry, and then that's how we ended up here.

04:27And today I'm extremely grateful to the Lord Almighty for giving us this beautiful chance to be with the people of Derry.

04:34And I believe that you have a degree in digital marketing, is it?

04:38Sorry?

04:39I believe you have a degree in digital marketing.

04:41Yeah.

04:42How does that commonly play out in a place like this?

04:45Because our congregation's motto is to spread the gospel through the modern means of communication,

04:51and therefore to be in the field of communication we need to be really occupied with knowledge,

04:57and that's the reason that I achieved a couple of degrees in journalism and communications,

05:02and thereafter I moved on to digital marketing and also diploma in engineering, computer engineering.

05:12So recently we came up with a beautiful mobile application for the people in Ireland.

05:18Its name is Daily Liturgy, which has got the daily readings and reflections, prayers, and a few beautiful songs are there.

Opening of St Paul's Holy Shop

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