The united nations of St Mellitus
AMONG worshippers were people from some of the world’s most dangerous trouble spots but, from the security of Finsbury Park’s St Mellitus Church on Sunday, they could afford a smile.
Parishioners from more than 70 countries took part in a remarkable “international day” photographic event at the Catholic church where immigrants have swelled the Sunday congregation to more than 500.
It comes as a recent nationwide study shows that Roman Catholicism is set to become the dominant religion in Britain for the first time since the Reformation because of massive migration from Catholic countries.
Worshippers at St Mellitus include veteran peace campaigner Bruce Kent and his wife Valerie.
Parish priest Father David Ardagh-Walter said: “We must be one of the most cosmopolitan churches in the borough. Most are immigrants and Catholics from the far corners of the world. It’s a delight to have them all under one roof for service on Sunday.”
Parishioners were invited by the Tollington Park church to put pins in maps of the world and of Great Britain and Ireland to show where they came from. Altogether, 374 parishioners took part.
The results were: UK: London 25, Scotland 4, Birmingham 3, Yorkshire 3, Wales 2, Tyne and Wear 2, Liverpool 2, and one each from Warwick, Northamptonshire, Nottingham, Surrey, Sussex, Devon. Bristol and the Isle of Man.
For Ireland, there were 10 from Cork, Donegal 9, Galway 9, Dublin 7, Kerry 7, Mayo 6, Tipperary 6, Limerick 5, Clare 4, Waterford 4, Cavan 3, Leitrim 3, Sligo 3, Wexford 3, Antrim 2, Armagh 2, Down 2, Kilkenny 2, Longford 2, Meath 2, West Meath 2, and Wicklow 2. There was one each from Carlow, Derry, Kildare, Laois, Louth, Monaghan, Roscommon and Tyrone.
Worldwide, there were 34 from Nigeria, Dem Rep of Congo 27, 0Ghana 14, India 10, Poland 7, St Lucia 6, United States 6, Angola 5, Bolivia 5, Eritrea 5, France 5, Italy 5, Jamaica 5, Canada 4, Niger 4, Russia 4, Sierra Leone 4, Uganda 4, Barbados 3, Brazil 3, Colombia 3, Portugal 3, Spain 3, Trinidad and Tobago 3, Australia 2, China 2, Congo 2, Germany 2, Grenada 2, Iraq 2, Malta 2, Martinique 2, Myanmar 2, St Kitts and Nevis 2, Sri Lanka 2, Zambia 2, and Zimbabwe 2.
There was one each from Antigua, Central African Republic, Dominica, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Guyana, Iceland, Iran, Japan, Liberia, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Turkey and Ukraine.
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