St. Bernard's Church is one of eight
Roman Catholic churches in the
British Overseas Territory
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...
of
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
.
Description
The church is located on
Europa Road
Europa Road is a major road in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It begins near Trafalgar Cemetery and Trafalgar Road and connects the centre with the southern tip of the territory at Europa Point. Along its way the road passes The R ...
near
Europa Point
Europa Point (Spanish language, Spanish and Llanito: Punta de Europa or Punta Europa), is the southernmost point of Gibraltar (the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula being Punta de Tarifa 25 km southwest of Gibraltar). At the end of ...
, Gibraltar's southernmost tip. It is a
parish church of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The Latin name for the diocese is ''Dioecesis Gibraltariensis''. About twenty priests and nine ...
Official website
, accessed 1 January 2013 and is named after one of Gibraltar's two patron saints, Bernard of Clairvaux.Jebel Musa
Jabal, Jabel, Jebel or Jibal may refer to:
People
* Jabal (name), a male Arabic given name
* Jabal (Bible), mentioned in the Hebrew Bible
Places
In Arabic, ''jabal'' or ''jebel'' (spelling variants of the same word) means 'mountain'.
* Dzhebel, ...
mountain on the southern coast of the Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...
.
History
St. Bernard's started off as the Roman Catholic church of the British Armed Forces in Gibraltar. The military had traditionally provided various Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
churches around the Rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
for the garrison
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
and they felt they should also provide a church for the Roman Catholics amongst them. A small disused armoury
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
at Europa Road was identified for conversion into a simple church. The church was serviced by Royal Navy Roman Catholic '' padres'' but also attended by some Gibraltarian
The Gibraltarians (Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterran ...
civilians.[
Following the rationalisation of the Rock's military facilities, the British Forces came to the conclusion that, as Gibraltar's population was predominantly Roman Catholic and church services were held in English, this would already cater for the Roman Catholic servicemen's religious needs. However, considering that St. Bernard's already had a healthy community of churchgoers, mostly made up of Gibraltarian civilians but also with temporary yet active members of the forces, it was decided that the community should not be lost. Responsibility over the church was therefore taken over by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar in the early 1990s after naval padre Vincent Docherty had arranged for the priest's house and church hall to be transferred together.][
However, it wasn't until the episcopacy of Bishop that the diocese secured a loan from the Government of Gibraltar to convert the small boxlike church, which suffered from water ingress at the time, into an aesthetically pleasing modern church with all the amenities.][
The first civilian to be appointed as priest in charge of St. Bernard's by the Diocese was Fr. Francis Little who was responsible for the church's transition from a military place of worship to a civilian one. Francis was also the first civilian priest to take on the role of honorary chaplain to the forces. This role has since been fulfilled by the priest in charge of St. Bernard's.][
]
References
{{Buildings and structures in Gibraltar
Roman Catholic churches in Gibraltar