The Peace Bridge in Derry City.Tourism Ireland / Irish Content Pool

It involves hundreds of thousands in allegedly "missing" money, an order of nuns, a bishop, a group of American investors, high-ranking clerics in the Vatican, the Pope, and hundreds of devout Catholics mystified as to why they are the only parish in Ireland that does not have its own church.

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland this weekend confirmed it is investigating both the Sisters of Mercy Northern Province and the Derry Diocesan Trust in relation to the saga.

Officials at the Charity Commission began their investigation shortly after parishioners attended their last Mass at the Church of The Immaculate Conception in October 2022. 

The church, which is owned by the Sisters of Mercy, is on the grounds of Thornhill College – where "Derry Girls" creator Lisa McGee went to school. For almost 30 years it was used as the local parish church by the growing number of Catholic families who were moving to the area. 

"Derry Girls" creator Lisa McGee.

But the nuns subsequently had a change of heart and decided it could no longer be used as a parish church, with the religious order repurposing it as an oratory instead.

The decision took parishioners by surprise, resulting in a petition against the church’s closure signed by more than 1,300 Mass-goers.

It is also now the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI), while the Vatican is taking a look into the matter as well.

At the heart of the CCNI investigation "Derry Girls’" Lisa McGee's former Catholic church was stripped of a place of worship, is the whereabouts of £690,000 (€817,000) raised by local people to build a new Culmore parish church. This money was raised over three years between 2008 and 2011 and then given to the local diocese. Questions have now been raised about whether financial reports were ever prepared detailing how this cash was used and handled.

A CCNI spokeswoman told the Irish Mail on Sunday: "Three complaints have been received regarding the Derry Diocesan Trust, two of which relate to monies fundraised to build a new parish church for Culmore. Two complaints have been received about the Sisters of Mercy Northern Province.

"The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland is examining the concerns received regarding the Derry Diocesan Trust and Sisters of Mercy Northern Province.

"Derry Diocesan Trust is a registered charity. It was registered on July 7 2016. The Sisters of Mercy Northern Province was registered on June 29 2016. Culmore Parish is not a registered charity. However, we have received issues of complaint in relation to Culmore parish which would fall under the Derry Diocesan Trust."

Read more

The spokeswoman added the CCNI "is in communication with the charities at this time. As all three complaints are live matters, we are unable to provide a comment or details at this time."

As the saga rumbles on, the Sisters of Mercy are preparing to sell their church along with 17 acres of land nearby, with at least three groups of investors and developers being keen to acquire the much sought-after site. It is understood one of these investors is considering lodging a case before the Pope’s court in the Vatican.

Last week, parishioners in Culmore were notified by one of Pope Francis’s emissaries that their heartfelt appeal to keep the church open had failed. 

The Vatican’s Supremo Tribunale Della Segnatura Apostolica had ruled that the building was an oratory owned by the nuns, and as a result, could no longer be considered a parish church.

The Sisters of Mercy declined to respond to a detailed list of questions emailed to them on Friday.

But a spokesman for an American group of investors keen to buy the site told the MoS: "The group are very disappointed that the Mercy Order Northern Province, with over stg£20m (€23.8m) in assets, are persisting with the loophole in Canon Law that by them using the parish church as an oratory for one day – after the parishioners had used it as a parish church for almost 30 years – that it has ceased to be a church.

"We will fund a further appeal to the Pope’s own court, the Apostolic Segnatura, against this fiction. Should we not succeed in the Vatican and the Bishop of Derry proceeds with a de-consecration, we still intend to purchase the church if we are allowed to bid on it and have it re-consecrated."

The parishioners of Culmore have vowed that they will continue their campaign to prevent what they regard as their parish church from becoming an ordinary building should de-consecration take place.

In a statement, they said: "Words are totally inadequate to express our heartfelt sorrow that the Vatican has turned down our appeal. Our barrister and legal team believed we had sufficient grounds to win the appeal and the rejection has come as a devastating blow.

"The Vatican Canon Law decision rested on the description of the church as an 'oratory' rather than a 'parish church'. Parishioners argued that the Church of the Immaculate Conception was a parish church.

"However, the Vatican has accepted an argument from the Derry diocese that it was an oratory.

"We submitted more than 100 witness statements to the contrary.

"The clue is in the title, as the road sign and former bulletins all read “Thornhill Church” and not Thornhill Oratory.

"We already have three parishioners willing to buy the property and restore it to a place of worship. We are looking forward to participating in the sale which surely must be widely publicized."

However, the parishioners insist they "have not given up hope".

They added: "Following the disappointing news, we intend to hold a public meeting of Culmore parishioners. We must also pay tribute to the dedicated parishioners of Culmore who raised £690,000 (€817,000) to build a new church in 2011. Unfortunately, a decision was taken not to proceed with the new build. A sizable amount of that money has been spent on other things which are currently being investigated by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland."

In a statement to the MoS, the Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown, said: "Thornhill Convent and Chapel are the property of the Sisters of Mercy, both in terms of civil law and Church law. I have no involvement in decision-making over the future of the property."

Bishop McKeown said the Sisters of Mercy "advised me that they would not be renewing the lease, a few months before the lease period was to end".

The bishop added: "There is a CCNI inquiry currently ongoing regarding the church building fund in Culmore. The diocese is fully cooperating and cannot comment further due to this process, apart from noting that no funds were used for any purpose outside the parish of Culmore.

"Recourse to Rome in relation to the relegation of the chapel is entirely a matter for the Holy See."

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.