By Mark Squibb
The Portugal Cove South Historical Corporation is selling tickets on a homemade queen size quilt in a bid to pay back money borrowed from the Town for legal fees incurred in the battle to save Holy Rosary Church.
The church, along with many others around eastern Newfoundland, had been put up for sale to compensate victims of abuse by clergy of the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s, but members of the heritage group changed the locks on the door in 2024 in an effort to dissuade potential buyers. A Supreme Court judge later ruled the Episcopal Corporation was the rightful owner of the property and granted an injunction forbidding any interference in the sale of the building.
Last fall, the church was bought by an unnamed buyer, who handed the building’s ownership over to the town and the heritage group.
Tickets are three for $5, and can be purchased from any member of the Portugal Cove South Historical Corporation. Some 1,500 tickets are printed, and the prize will be mailed to the winner anywhere in Canada.
The group borrowed some $15,000 from the Town to cover the cost of legal fees. So far, they have paid back roughly $13,000, which was raised through fundraisers and donations, and hope to raise another $2,000 in ticket sales to pay the Town off entirely.
Cynthia Power of the Portugal Cove South Historical Corporation said things have been going well since the purchase of the church last fall. Mass was held at the church during Christmas.
The winner will be drawn on May 1.
