Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Church

The founder of the church was Fr. Francis Scalpell, a Maltese priest who was ordained in Rome in 1921 and came to Liverpool in 1926. There, he started the parish of St Anthony of Padua in Mossley Hill. In 1938, he went to Haverfordwest and came to Dolgellau a year later. At first, there was no place of worship for the local Catholics, so Mass was said in an old stable, with holes in the walls and the roof. Fr. Scalpell himself stayed in the attic of a nearby barn, which also had holes in the roof. Years later, the old stable was repaired, renovated and enlarged by joining it to a building that was previously a Fish and chip shop. During the Second World War, Italian prisoners of war helped…

Building work started in 1963 and lasted for four more years and the total cost was £68,000. The architect, Maurice Pritchard and the builders, John Evans and Sons, were all from the local area. The church was built in a Norman style architecture with a crucifix above the main entrance designed by Benigno Mörlin Visconti Castiglione, a sculptor from Milan, who has work displayed in Milan Cathedral and St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The church was opened in September 1966. It was consecrated on 15 May 1967 by the Bishop of Menevia, John Edward Petit.