00:00In Alton Sully Hall stands a beautiful grade 2 listed building. It's Alton Friary, today home to
00:08the Church of the Holy Ghost and Mary Immaculate, whose parish community has been marking 100 years
00:15since the laying of its foundation stone. And welcome here to Alton Friary. 150 years ago,
00:22when the friary behind us was first built, this was all open countryside, this was out in the
00:27country, and this is why 43 acres of land were bought by the Birmingham Diocese in order to
00:34provide a seminary for the training of priests for the Birmingham Diocese. It didn't last as a seminary
00:39for that long, and in 1889 the campus was sold to the Franciscans, and the Franciscan friars started
00:47a parish here. They had a make-do church, which is on the site of the present parish hall, and
00:54this
00:54beautiful building that we're celebrating today was begun in 1924. And talk us through the
01:00celebrations that are happening for this anniversary. Well, we start today when the foundation stone was
01:07laid, back in 1924. And we celebrate with local schools, with parishioners, and we've actually
01:15invited a Capuchin Franciscan, Father John Kavanagh, who was based here back in the day when the friars were
01:22here, and he's going to celebrate the mass for us this evening. For people here, the anniversary is not
01:28just a celebration of the building itself, but for generations of worship, service, and local life
01:34centered here. Father Bijou Antony says the friary remains important, not only to parishioners, but to
01:42Solihull as a whole. It's very important to the Solihull community as we celebrate the centenary
01:48foundation stone of our church here, and it's very much attracted to the local community in Solihull and
01:55in the Alton Friary, and in and around the Alton. So there's still a full range of services offered here?
02:01Yes, we house on Sundays three masses, 9am, 11am and 6pm, and weekdays we have two masses, 7am and 10
02:10.15.
02:10And we do a lot of spiritual activities for the people and the faithful, and very much attracted
02:17by the parishioners, local people to the Alton Friary.
02:20The building behind us though, a little bit more quiet these days?
02:25Yes, it's due to the health and safety. We don't stay in the building, but we work. We are in
02:31the building from
02:31morning 6am till evening 9am. And since none of us live in the building, it looks a bit quiet sometimes.
02:39Father, thank you so much.
02:40Yeah, it's wonderful to see you. Have a wonderful evening. God bless you all.
02:44So as Alton Friary marks this centenary, there is pride in its past, affection for a beautiful
02:51and historic building, and a hope that it will remain an important part of community life
02:56in Solihull for many years to come.
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