Wick faithful mark historic milestone
A HISTORIC anniversary was marked by Roman Catholics in Caithness last week.
A special mass was held at St Joachim’s Church on Wednesday night to mark the 175th anniversary of the completion of the place of worship.
The celebratory mass on was led by incumbent priest Father John Allen and tied in with a flower festival held by the congregation.
The church has its origins in the herring fishing era of the mid-19th century when a priest from Keith came to the town.
Father Walter Lovi came to watch over a flock of around 10,000 people, a large proportion of whom had come over from Ireland to work in the fishing trade.
While there he helped treat a cholera outbreak in 1832, including working out of a hospital on Wellington Street.
After helping so many of the townsfolk they offered the priest a site upon which to build a church.
Fundraising eventually allowed the priest to open St Joachim’s in 1836 before he started his travels around the UK where he helped many more cholera sufferers.