Belmont RC Church hosts ‘raffle for restoration’

The St Francis of Assisi RC Belmont community is hosting a raffle toward restoration of the 121 year-old church, a listed building with the National Trust. It is hoped the raffle will raise $300,000 to the overall $2 million needed to complete the project.

There is a 14-year gap since Mass was celebrated and the desire is for resumption this year.

Jose Nivet, a member of the fundraising and building committees listed key areas of phase two of the project. “A lot of the sacristy had to be redone, there was some structural damage that had to be repaired,” he said.

He listed other work to be done: repairs to the roof above the altar and flooring, windows behind the altar, repointing of the façade of the church with lime mortar, refurbishing benches, a new audio-visual system for the church, repairs to statues, refurbishment of the choir loft.

The bell tower will be removed from the sanctuary because of structural damage and a new one to be constructed outside the church.

Nivet said all raffle books have been distributed to well-wishers and parishes in the northern vicariate, schools in Belmont and surrounding areas.

To boost raffle sales, there will be special prizes for schools: the school selling the most raffles and the six top students selling the most books.

Persons can buy raffle tickets or make donations directly to:

Cheques payable to – RC Archbishop of POS Belmont (indicate on cheque – Restoration).
Bank transfer: Republic Bank, WoodbrookAccount #: 510800063201
Donors are asked to include a screenshot of the donation to Jose Nivet: 388-9039 via WhatsApp.