CAMPAIGNERS are calling for the Pope to intervene and stop plans to close a Catholic Church in Abersoch.

Earlier this year the Bishop of Wrexham, Peter Brignall, published a reorganisation plan which will see 22 of its 60 places of worship close, including Sant Garmon in Abersoch.

The decision has angered many users of the church and now a petition, organised by the Friends of Sant Garmon, has been sent to the Pope asking him to help stop its closure.

Abersoch resident Pat Kearns, whose family helped build Sant Garmon in the 1950s, said she was “devastated” when she heard of the bishop’s plans to close her beloved church.

She said: “I have attended Sant Garmon for over 50 years; it’s a very special church to me.

“I have a real family connection to the church, my daughter got married there and her children got baptised there.

A spokesperson for the Wrexham Diocese said: “It is regrettable that the campaigners calling themselves the Friends of Sant Garmon should have thought it necessary to petition the Holy Father to rescind the proposal for the closure of the church in Abersoch."

See the full story in this week’s Arfon/Dwyfor edition of the Cambrian News, in shops now or available online by clicking the digital editions link