The owners of an Irish pub in Luxembourg said they initially thought a priest's emergency plea to use their bar to say Mass was a prank call.
Irish Redemptorist priest Fr Michael Cusack set up his altar in the pub, under a Hop House 13 sign, for two weeks to say Mass after his church was closed for renovations.
Owners Vincent and Adrienne Clarke first believed the telephone call from Fr Cusack, whom they had never met, asking to say Mass in their pub until an alternative could be found, was a hoax.
Vincent Clarke and Fr Michael Cusack pictured in The Irish Pub in Luxembourg. Photo: supplied by Louise Walsh
The Galway man said Mass in the pub to 250 of his congregation on two Sundays at the end of January, while a further 250 joined in the service online.
Fr Michael reached out to the Clarkes after he was left with nowhere to go when his church was closed for lengthy renovations, which could take up to six years to complete.
"I am living in a Redemptorist Monastery, but the church has been closed for renovations by the State.
"At the moment there are archaeologists in there trying to discover if there are any city walls under the church, and these explorations have to be carried out before works can begin as it is a very old building, so the closure meant that we were displaced.
Celebration
"Our grouping of English-speaking Catholics are up to 1,000 people in number.
"We spent two weekends in an Irish pub, thanks to Vincent and Adrienne Clarke, who thankfully opened their doors to me and our community.
"We had Mass there for two Sundays and then, I think that was enough to shame the Diocese into trying to find a new place for us," he told LMFM Radio's Late Lunch.
"I didn't turn water into wine as such for the bar, but they are usually closed on a Sunday, so we decided since it was our final day that we would have the bar open afterwards and we had a lovely celebration,
"We are in three churches in Luxembourg now. At the moment, it's like you are on holidays, going in and out of hotels each time because you have to bring everything with you. We have no storage and we have no place to call our own and it looks like that could last up to six years," Fr Cusack explained.
"In a way Redemptorists were always meant to be missionaries, so we are certainly that at the minute. We have the biggest group of worshipping Catholics in Luxembourg, and it is a very vibrant group so our numbers are growing all the time.
"So, there is something good about having no church too, but it would do your head in at my age now," he laughed.
The Clarkes, who own The Irish Bar, said they were glad to be able to help.
The couple, originally from Sligo and Louth, renovated an 800 square meter warehouse into a pub, restaurant and whiskey shop in 2016 and are often the first point of call for Irish people moving to Luxembourg.
"The pub is very lively. We have eight dart boards where the Luxembourg darts team play, as well as many karaoke nights and live music, so this request left us, at first, questioning if it was true," Adrienne said.
"We were actually away on holidays when I got a phone call from Fr Michael saying that his church was being renovated and he urgently needed a premises to say Mass.
"He had heard that we had a very large space with loads of parking and asked if we would consider opening our pub on Sunday to welcome his parishioners.
"I initially thought this has to be a scam. I said to Vincent: 'You won't believe it, but an Irish priest has just rang asking to say Mass in our pub!'
"Vincent fell around the place laughing and then said, 'no, seriously, who was on the phone?' When we found out that the call was, indeed, real, we didn't hesitate to help out," she added.
Adrienne said the first Mass was such a success the couple agreed to welcome Fr Cusack and his parishioners back the following week, this time followed by an Irish session.
"He got sorted with a Church afterwards but he knows we are here if he ever needs us again," she added.
