Just off the main road, which runs between MAENTWROG and TRAWSFYNYDD, in the county of Meirionydd, in the Diocese of Wrexham, lies the village of GELLILYDAN, a village of about 1000 inhabitants, in North Wales.
Summer visitors cannot help noticing a building and Grotto on the side of the road (as you can see from the photos below).
The signboard tells them that it is the Church of the 'Holy Cross' 'Eglwys y Groes Sanctaidd'. How this little church came into being is a story worth telling - a story of simple faith and perseverance.
The story begins in the late nineteen-twenties, when a hydroelectric scheme was started in Trawsfynydd, (which is three miles from Gellilydan). Among the 700 or so workers who worked there, were several Irish Catholics, who had come over from Ireland, along with their families, in search of regular employment and a secure wage. Mass was said for these Catholic workers on the site, by Fr RAYMOND BARKER S.J., who was one of the pioneers in the Welsh Missions field.
When the work of harnessing Trawsfynydd Lake was completed, some of the workers moved on. However, some of the families remained in the district, among them were two families, who had come from Fermoy, in County Cork. The two families who stayed were Mr & Mrs Anwyl Jones, (Mr Anwyl Jones was a welsh man) and Mr & Mrs Fitzgerald.
Mrs Anwyl Jones (nee Mary Ellen Lynch) recalled how she came to Wales in 1926 with her husband. After a few days with his relatives in Llwyngwril, they moved to Machynlleth. Here, when expecting one of her children, she asked the person whom they were lodging with, if a priest could be allowed to come to the house to hear her confession. Her request was refused. Mrs Anwyl-Jones felt this very much:
"I prayed that Machynlleth would one day know what Catholic priests were, and what they stood for"
Her prayer was answered. In 1950, when on a visit to Machynlleth, she saw for herself the lovely Redemptorist church, situated near the house where her request for confession was denied. Next to the church, she saw the headquarters of the Menevia Redemptorist Travelling Mission.
In the years immediately following the completion of the hydroelectric scheme, Masses were few and far between. Various priests came at odd times. When Mrs Annwyl-Jones wanted to get one of her children baptised, she had to travel a journey of 30 miles. Occasionally, a priest would came from Dolgellau, about fifteen miles away, and say Mass on an old oak chest of drawers in the tiny kitchen of 'Bryn Awel', the home of Mary Ellen.
Before she died, Mary Ellen wrote down her recollection of the priest's first visit:
"One day, I was called to a house where an old man was ill. His name was Patrick Walsh. He thought that his wife might not like the priest to call, so I asked her if I might be allowed to send for a priest. 'Do, if you wish' was her reply. So I sent a letter or a telegram - I can't remember which. I prayed that the priest would arrive in time. When a car arrived about 7.30am the next morning, I directed the priest Fr Eric Green, to the house. Later, when the priest came for a cup of tea, he said the man was not really bad, but that that he given him the Sacraments. I felt sorry about fetching the priest so far but the next morning I had to phone the priest, to inform him that the man had passed away peacefully during the night, and that his journey had been necessary after all".
Her prayers were answered again.
In the pre-war years, Sundays meant for the Fitzgeralds and the Anwyl-Jones', long journeys to and from Mass, in all kinds of weather. A Welsh language newspaper, 'Y CYMRO' commented: "Although Irish, they speak the Welsh language perfectly, but most of all, they have kept their faith". This meant they had to walk miles to the nearest Catholic priest in all weathers.
Between 1939 and 1944 Masses were very rare. For five years, without regular Mass and the Sacraments, the responsibility for the religious and Catholic upbringing of the children of the two families now twelve strong rested entirely upon the efforts of the parents. In order to make sure one of her children was baptised Mrs Anwyl-Jones made a journey of sixty miles (there and back) to Denbigh. They did their tasks well. By means of simple instructions, good example and regular family prayers, especially the Rosary, they successfully implanted a knowledge and love of their Faith, into the hearts of their little ones.
Some years later, an Irish Bishop on a visit to BLAENAU FFESTINIOG was taken by one of the Oblate Fathers to see these remarkable Catholics of Gellilydan. He was greatly impressed, when entering the house unannounced, he found the family gathered around the kitchen table saying the Rosary.
In 1944, Father Patrick Crowley, who was later to become the first Menevia Diocesan Travelling Missionary, was appointed parish-priest of PORTHMADOG, about nine miles away. From the start he took a keen interest in the Catholics of Gellilydan. Regular Mass now came to the village. In a chronicle of the Catholic Community of Gellilydan, which was kept by Mr Mervyn Owen, (late husband of one of Mrs Anwyl-Jones' daughters), the people note their appreciation of his efforts:
"If it had not been for the unfailing and endless interest taken by this priest in our little community, there would not be so much history to recall. It is to him that we must give our thanks that we have our little Church today.
EGLWYS Y GROES SANCTAIDD
CHURCH OF THE HOLY CROSS
Soon a need for a building of some sort became apparent; the community had grown to about 20. Besides, some of the younger children had never seen a Catholic Church. Negotiations for buying a disused chapel fell through, but an article on the matter in the Irish Standard brought in a few hundred pounds.
With this and other donations a building was acquired: an old stone tannery, long disused, said to be over 300 years old and going to ruin. A local architect: Mr Pritchard took it in hand. An interior wall and floor were removed. The roof was repaired and door and window added (for it had just the four walls to begin with).
You can see from the pictures below what the inside of the church looked like in the beginning...
It was changed again in the sixties, as shown below...
And as it looks today:
On the 24th of August 1952, in the presence of a congregation of over 600, his Lordship Bishop Petit formally blessed and opened the new church of the Holy Cross- - Egwlys y Groes Sanctaidd.
In May 1954, the first public procession since the Reformation was held, as the Church celebrated the month of Our Lady of the Rosary.
The title of the church is in Welsh because at that time all the descendants of the original families spoke Welsh as their first language, so that it was an almost entirely Welsh-speaking community. Fr Patrick Crowley, the priest in charge, was also a fluent Welsh speaker, and at the time, the secretary of the Welsh-speaking Catholic Circle (Y Cylch Cymraeg). His successor Fr John Ryan O.M.I was also a Welsh- speaker. In the new church, the sermons, hymns and prayer were mostly in Welsh, and the children learnt their catechism in Welsh.
Christmas, 1952, was an historic occasion for the Catholics of Gellilydan: the first midnight Mass was held in their own church. The Chronicle records: "It was lovely to watch the little children kneeling down in reverence and blessing themselves before the crib. They had never seen one in their lives before". That night, as a very special privilege, they were allowed to stay up, in order that they may be present at the first ever Midnight Mass at Gellilydan.
Fr Riordan C.SS.R Diocesan Travelling Missionary came up from Machynlleth to say the Mass. Between 11.30pm and midnight, while he was hearing confessions, the children sang Christmas hymns and carols and the tolling of the church bell echoed throughout the village.
The bell (about two feet high and very heavy) was a gift from Canon Collins, from Rhyl. For some time, Mrs Annwyl-Jones kept it in her home, under the table. Eventually it was taken to the church and erected. A local farmer came to collect it with his cart. The bell was heaved into the cart, but was so heavy it fell through!
"My cart is broken!" exclaimed the farmer. "What am I going to do?" "God will look after you!" was Mrs Anwyl-Jones' confident reply.
Mervyn Owen wrote in his Chronicle under the date: 18th January 1954:
"After nine months of careful instruction, under the guidance of Fr John Ryan O.M.I., I was received into the Church. This was a memorable day for me. I shall never cease to thank God for the grace to be in his true fold until I die. I shall also try to spread the faith, and bring more to the true Church".
Soon coach loads of Catholics from larger parishes came to visit Gellilydan to see its new church and meet its few parishioners. The Chronicle states:
"It gives us great pleasure to see the church full of people. It makes us feel that we are not alone. Often there is only a handful of us. Maybe if it's God's will, our church will one day be filled with our own people."
In 1956, a group of Irish-speaking Legionaries of Mary come over to Gellilydan to hold a conference in the village. Visiting priests and Legionaries boarded out in non-Catholic homes. They made a profound impression upon the village. In December of that year, Dr Liam Mulcahy of Eire whose name is held in high esteem in the village came across to set up the Legion of Mary in Gellilydan. In 1957, as a direct result of the Legion visit, there were five converts under instruction.
In August 1961, the village was in deep mourning. Its best-loved inhabitant had passed to her eternal reward, having seen her dream come true. Nine priests, her sons, her daughters and her grandchildren, the catholic community (numbering 80 souls), a group of Irish Legionaries of Mary and many non-Catholics packed the church for her solemn sung requiem.
In the Anglican graveyard of St Twrog, at MAENTWROG, almost side by side, are two graves marked FITZGERALD AND JONES (nee Lynch) silent reminders of the simple faith and apostolic zeal of these emigrants from FERMOY, County Cork.
Unless the grain of wheat falling die, it self remaineth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John c12v25-25)
ABERYSTWYTH: 1973
In May 1973, twelve years after Mrs Anwyl-Jones had passed away; her children were sent invitations to attend the Diamond Jubilee Celebration of the Menevia Union of Catholic Mothers, at The King's Hall, Aberystwyth.
Intrigued as to why they were asked, Mrs Anwyl-Jones' sons and daughters went. When they arrived, they found out that the Menevia Union of Catholic Mothers had organised a series of short plays, reflecting upon the lives of the six most outstanding Welsh mothers, and they are listed below:
Episode 1: ST NON (mother of St David, Patron Saint of Wales)
Episode 2: LADY MARGARET BEAUFORT and her son HENRY TUDOR
Episode 3: MRS RICHARD GWYNNE, wife of ST RICHARD GWYNNE
Episode 4: MRS VAUGHAN, of Courtfield, mother of CARDINAL VAUGHAN and her CHILDREN (given to the service of God).
Episode 5: MRS ANWYL-JONES: OF GELLILYDAN: an Irish mother who brought up her children to learn Welsh and serve the Church in her adopted Land
Episode 6: OUR LADY OF TAPER: the Mother of Our Lord, deigned to manifest herself at the ancient shrine in Cardigan.
Mrs Anwyl-Jones' children weren't given programmes, as the rest of the people were, so they had no idea what was coming next. In the fifth play, they saw an actress play the part of an Irish woman. She had two little children with her, and they were supposed to have just arrived in Wales off the boat. As soon as the play started, they knew straight away whom it was about. They were amazed and moved to see their mother being honoured in such company, such was the faith of Mrs Annwyl-Jones (nee Mary Ellen Lynch).
The Gellilydan Story was originally written by the late Mr Mervyn Francis Owen (R.I.P: 1924-1997) and published by the Lamp Society. The web site was designed and the story updated by Philip G Bolger: with assistance from Marryat Wright and Margaret Hall.