A congregation of over 50 took part in a special service held at a Dolgellau Church last week as part of its 50th Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Catholic church Our Lady of Seven Sorrows is currently celebrating the 50th year since its consecration and bears testament to the efforts of the late Father Francis Scalpell, who served the town of Dolgellau as parish priest from 1928 (except for the year 1937 – 38 when he was parish priest of Barmouth) until his death in 1970.

Father Scalpell was born in Malta in 1895 being ordained in Rome in 1921.

One of the Maltese priests sent to Liverpool in 1926 he arrived in Dolgellau two Years later.

Father Scalpell sought a ‘proper church’. Over a long period he set himself the task of raising funds to build such a building.

See the full story in this week’s Meirionnydd edition of the Cambrian News