Our Parish is in the process of organising the construction of a Columbarium adjacent to the Church.
A Columbarium is a structure for the respectful and public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased.
A special “Projects Committee” has been formed to oversee the design and construction of the Columbarium.
The text in italics below is an extract of the key points in the Columbarium brief prepared by the Projects Committee:
The intention for our Columbarium is to create a restful place in which parishioners ashes can be interned on the east side of the church adjacent the entry portico.
The Columbarium will cater for a strong desire for senior parishioners to have their ashes interned at the Parish as well as provide a place for quiet reflection and prayer and improve the landscape setting of the church.
Niches for internment of ashes obtained from a cremation are provided in walls and when an internment takes place; a brass or stone plaque is fitted over the niche to seal the opening.
A staged approach to the construction of the columbarium will be required. Stage 1 is to provide approximately 250 niches and the timing of future stages will depend on demand from parishioners.
Security and minimisation of the risk of vandalism will be important. The layout of the columbarium walls will need to achieve visibility from the street to all areas as well as provision of appropriate gates and fences to be able to secure the columbarium.
Wall materials will be masonry; either brickwork, stone or concrete and paving shall be insitu concrete or similar. It is intended that the lifespan of the Columbarium is at least 50 year’s so all material selections and construction techniques need to reflect this.
Sections of the columbarium may be named after Catholic Saints e.g. “St Thomas More” / “Our Lady of Sorrow” / “The Good Shepherd”. Consideration of signage of different sections or walls will be required.
It is intended that the design of the Columbarium responds to the design of St Thomas More Church and it’s setting in a careful and beautiful way without being a copy of the existing building.
The Parish has engaged Simon Pendal Architect to design the Columbarium and all Parishioners are invited to attend a presentation of Simon’s concept design in the Parish Hall at 12:15pm on Sunday 16th May.
On behalf of the Projects Committee we warmly invite you to join us for this exciting presentation about a significant new step for our Parish.
Thank you
Eamon Broderick
Chairperson, St Thomas More Projects Committee