London Worshippers Find Unity as Cathedral Ceiling Collapses

Worshippers from a Ukrainian cathedral in London have been forced to seek an alternative location to pray after the ceiling of the cathedral dramatically collapsed.

Congregants at the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family in Exile, situated in London's Mayfair face the prospect of being spiritually homeless as damage, likely to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, was uncovered last week.

However, another church in the Mayfair area, belonging to the same group of parishes as the Catholic Cathedral, has offered the homeless worshippers space to hold prayers.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception, a Jesuit church, is likely to become the temporary home for the Catholic worshippers for a number of weeks as assessments are taken out on the damage.

Ged Clapson, a Jesuit spokesman said: "It's lucky no-one was in the church when it happened. It's going to take 10 to 12 months to repair. That gives you an estimate of the damage."

Parish priest of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Father William Pearsall said: "Our capacity isn't as great as the Ukrainian Cathedral, and we have only limited facilities, so there are going to be some interesting logistics.

"But this is the least we can do to help out our fellow Catholics at this time of crisis."

The Ukrainian Catholic Church is the largest of the Catholic Church's eastern branches.

Clapson said: "The churches are both part of the deanery, and they meet occasionally. It's going to brings us together more closely."