May 3^rd 2007 marks  the 175^th anniversary of the first Mass in Gardiner St Church in 1832.

Thus it was one of the first churches to be built in Dublin  after Catholic Emancipation.  The church in Hardwicke St had opened in 1821 but by 1829 had become too small for the congregations.

The Jesuits had been in the Hardwicke St area since the 1730s, on the site now occupied by the Sacred Heart statue and had opened a school there which eventually moved into Belvedere College in 1841.   The first Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Murray, who presented a chalice which is still used .

Over the years the church has been best know for its devotional life in the heart of Dublin.   The Novena of Grace each 4-12 March, the Sacred Heart Novena in preparation for the feast, the sodalities of men and women, the choirs, the Bona Mors (Happy Death) confraternity, all nourished the faith of the people.  The First Friday Holy Hour was a full house each month with Fr ‘Pom’ O’Mara SJ. 

Many well-known people of faith were associated with the church among them Matt Talbot, a recovered alcoholic, whose cause is in process for beatification.  He prayed in the church each day at the 5.30 a.m. Mass, and in fact died on his way to the next Mass in Dominic St Church in Granby Lane on June 7, 1925.  John Henry Cardinal Newman celebrated Mass here when he lived in Dorset St in 1854; his cause is also in process for beatification.   We can surmise that Bl Dom Columba Marmion visited the church when he was Professor at Clonliffe College.

The church is also the resting place of Fr John Sullivan whose cause for canonisation is in process in Rome.  His tomb draws a daily stream of devotees, as does the monthly Mass in his memory.  Fr John worked for a short time in the church in 1907.

Through local St Vincent de Paul and other societies attached to the sodalities, the church has made a big contribution to the life of the area at a time of great social deprivation.   The Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs as well as the Altar Servers’ Club looked after the young people of the area.

In 1974 the church became a parish church, with areas carved off from St Agatha’s. North William St and other local parishes, and thus is now more committed than ever to the people of the area.

In May 2000,  the Sunday Gospel Choir Mass was introduced.  This style of Mass is an attempt to find a contemporary way of celebrating faith and Mass in a context suitable to today.  The church has also been host to Liam Lawton, the well-known Irish liturgical musical composer in concert,  and to Our Lady’s Choral Society.

Recently a series of Evie Hone stained glass windows were transferred from University Hall. 

The stained glass of St Francis Xavier and the Holy Family by James Earley also found their home in the church.

The work of the Religious Sisters of Charity in Gardiner St Primary School, Temple St Hospital, the Social Serivce Cebntre and other places in the locality has always been a big part of the life of the church and the parish. 

We salute the people who built the church, Fr Esmonde SJ, the then Superior, and the hundreds of Jesuit priests and brothers who gave their services gladly to the people for whom Gardiner St was a home of faith and prayer.  We salute also the lay people whose volunteer services have always been highly appreciated by the Jesuits and their congregations.  We thank them, and express our hope a long future for this church and parish. ‘for the greater glory of God’, the motto of St Ignatius Loyola above the high altar.