Church of the Sacred Heart, Limerick City

When the Jesuits reestablished a community in Limerick in 1859 the bishop of Limerick, John Ryan, entrusted to their care the diocesan college, St. Munchin's; the Jesuits since their foundation in the sixteenth century had a long association with education. The college moved from Harstonge Street to the nearby Crescent in 1862. The Crescent was a late Georgian residential development, dating from the 1820s, housing some of the city's more well-to-do residents. In 1864 it was decided that the college would be relocated and that in its place a Jesuit church would be erected. Construction on the church began in 1864 and was completed by 1868. The church was to be dedicated to the great Jesuit saint, Aloysius, but the lately venerated Sacred Heart was eventually settled upon.  

When the Jesuits decided to open a public church in the city centre they chose local man, William Edward Corbett as architect. Corbett was responsible for many of the most important architectural works in the city in the period, leaving an indelible mark on its landscape. His new church was to be incorporated into the Georgian terrace, in as harmonious fashion as possible. The church was t-shaped, with a nave, transepts and a shallow sanctuary. In 1900 the facade was renovated, giving us its present appearance. The new facade was a three bay, two storey structure, constructed largely in red brick. The church's prominence was thanks to its central setting on the Crescent. Facing the facade stands a statue (1857) of Daniel O'Connell, the leader of the movement for Catholic Emancipation.  

The church's interior was essentially Classical. As the church was sandwiched in between a Georgian terrace, it had a narrow, but relatively long nave, and was flanked to the north and south by transepts. The marble high altar, made in Rome, was installed in 1876. The nave and sanctuary seen above were renovated extensively in the twentieth century. The apse was decorated in mosaics depicting the lives of Jesuit saints in 1938. The central panel depicts St Margaret Mary Alocoque and St Claude la Colombiere kneeling before the ascending Sacred Heart. The Jesuits continued to offer pastoral care to the city's Catholics until 2006, when due to falling vocations the church was closed. It was sold to a developer, and was due to be converted into a leisure complex. In 2012 the church was bought by the Institute of the Christ the King Sovereign Priest, an order dedicated to the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass. The church is due to reopen to the public in the near future.