St Anthony's Church in Belfast || Photo feed
Despite living in Northern Ireland for over 5 years (6 in September) and 4 in Belfast - I still come across places here I didn't know existed.
When my Mum visited me in April, she stayed for a few days, including Sunday. So I thought she would feel more at home if I could find a mass service that is carried out in polish language.
To my surprise - the task turned out to be extremely easy. The church where Polish Mass is celebrated every Sunday is not only in Belfast, but just a five minutes drive from our house. It is St. Anthony's Church. What's more, when I was looking for Polish masses in the area, I quickly found a smartphone app called 'duszpolonia' (in English it would be a conglomeration of the words 'soul' and 'Poland', Polonia means ‘Poland’ in latin), where I could find not only the times of mass for Mum, but also other events, such as holy confession (which is extremely important for Catholics), adoration of the Blessed Sacrament(not sure what that really means to be perfectly honest).
St Anthony's Church stands on the former grounds of Willowfield House, owned by Jonathan Vint, a prominent Belfast businessman. The house and eight acres of land were bought in 1906 by Most Rev H Henry, who was at that time the Bishop of Down & Connor.
The service started after 6pm, so I took Mum in her routine half hour early to church. I stayed in the car by myself. I didn't sit in it for long, because as the church building as well as its surroundings drew my attention rather quickly.
The sheer mass of the church and the stone from which it is built is similar to many local buildings and does not stand out from other Roman Catholic ones. What attracted me most - was the green surrounding the church. The trees and flowers gave the place character. The late spring definitely suits the place well. It was a nice day (no, not sunny, those are extremely rare in Northern Ireland) and the light was perfect for taking photos.
At first I walked around the church without taking a single shot. I sat for a while on the steps leading up to the side entrance, enjoying the view of the trees in bloom. Then I took a few photos of the building and by then I had already started looking at my watch. The masses my Mum attends in Poland usually last 40 - 45 minutes maximum. So I was in a hurry to take as many pictures as possible. Unnecessary, as it turned out later. An hour and over 300 photos later - still no one was leaving the church. So I went outside the church gates and started looking around. I found a rather interesting mural as well as a beauty salon with the cheeky-sounding name 'Beauty Religion' (despite my innate cynicism - I find this name really distasteful).
The service lasted an hour and 10 minutes. Time enough to take lots of - I hope - decent photos and, according to my Mum, to find solace in prayer.
How's your week is going?
Yours,
Strega Azure
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Yay! Thank you very much:)
Great photos, Strega ;-) Some great angles and aspects. But you are quite the rebel!!! lol ... although I'm guessing you didn't actually walk on the grass to get that pic of the sign hehe. I'm thinking a bit of zoom or it is alongside the pathway, perhaps? The church is a grand old dame, much like many churches in the UK. I think many were designed by the same architect! It has a lovely approach to it up the stairs and I love love love that tree!!! Its root system must be sucking up a ton of water. It's a pretty stunning tree in bloom but the twists in the trunk give it beautiful character too! 😍 So, were you tempted? Just a little? 😂🥰 !LUV !LOLZ !LADY
ps: I'm glad you got some time with your mom 💗 And what a find! Polish services on your doorstep. I'm sure she was very happy x
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Sam! So nice to see you here:) I just made myself busy while waiting for Mum. No, l haven't destroyed single blade of grass! Not because l am not rebellious (that as you know perfectly well if not true :D) just because the lawn looked like haven't seen any human foot before. l thought it is a good thing, and decided to leave well maintained lawn alone. Plus the lawn itself was on my eye level :D The foot path was below the lawn, in shallow trench. It is indeed strange set up. Maybe they had a moat there back in the days ? ;D
Yep, it you just randomly posted 10 different churches around the UK I couldn't say which one is which even though I was studying art history for quite some time.
Tree was amazing! I was starring at it in disbelief for long time. Roots are taking over the place:)
Beautiful pictures (not religion - LOL) and such a huge church - wow! How wonderful for your mom that you found a Polish service just around the corner. That's pretty amazing. I'm kinda curious about the inside of the church now. I am not religious but I do admire the work and art that goes into religious buildings (not necessarily the hardship it cost others)
Thank you very much, glad you like it! l am not religious person myself too. But I do adore religious art. Painting, sculpture and architecture alike. l am interested how the place looks inside too. l might swing by next time to see what style they went for:)
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You're welcome @strega.azure. Looking forward to you reaching your new target 😅
Baby steps!
You have got nice shots friend
Bit I was wondering why you didn't join mum at the mass
Or its not your place of worship?
Thank you very much, I am glad you like my shots.
l came from catholic upbringing but I am not religious person myself at all.
Regardless of my personal views I respect my Mum's beliefs, and wanted for her to feel at home with me. Thank you for popping by!
I would give that church at least 2-3 hundred years and not "just" 100! It is built in a way that churches were built a long time ago... But, with that big yard, situated a bit out of the city, and fenced (and locked), it hints that it's more modern... If not, it would be in the town/city center...
You did a great job by capturing not only the church but also the nature around it... Thanks for sharing!!!
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Right? l was surprised as well. But this way you can tell someone did great job, and the building become timeless. It stands out, and ties nicely with the urban fabric.
I am glad you like my shots. Thank you for your comment and for "picking" me:)
Great flower photos and I like the old tree in front of the church.
Thank you very much! It has been lovely day for photos, no glaring sun and no rain:)
Tree look like has been there before the church was built:)
Thank you for swinging by!
The pictures are beautiful. I love it that you made your mom comfortable and to feel at home - indeed it's her home. Cheers!!!
#dreemerforlife
Thank you very much! I think about it this way - I am the one to leave home country, so the weight of maintaining good relationship with my family should be on my shoulders. It is difficult, but sometimes does not need a lot to keep in touch with our close ones.
Thank you for your visit!
What's that word again?? Oh yeah! "Seek and ye sha find." A lot of things just stare us in the face but we don't see it unless we need it and search for it.
Lovely photos, just out of curiosity, were they shot from your phone?
Came in from #dreemport
Yep, need to keep eyes wide open for a change:)))
For all my recent pictures I've used my phone, Redmi Note 12 Pro
Thank you for your visit!
Oh nice!!! I use Redmi 12.... Really solid phone brand 🙂
Phone sisters! Yep, it is decent devise for the propose. I was looking for the smartphone that has 3.5mm jack, which is very uncommon. Can't part with my favourite big headphones with 3.5mm jack, so had to find something that would be compatible.
Nowadays it is a 'song of the past', because most of the people would use 'buds'. I hate those :D
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🌹🌹🌹🌹😘. I had wanted to get 13c but when I saw the 12, it was just too cute I could not let it go despite it being more pricey.
😂 I use air pods, but I'm seriously considering headphones seeing that everyone around me uses it 😃. Plus the air pods causes my head to ache.
Apologies for the late response, a lot on my plate.
Never rush! We all have life beyond hive(I hope :)))
Headache doesn't sounds great, I wouldn't hesitate to swap to regular ear/ or headphones:)
😅 thank you for your understanding ❤️