The landmark Ss Peter and Paul church in the Wirral could be open around the clock as a 24 hour beacon of worship.
The church, which is known as the “Dome of Home” closed in August 2008 but following a high-profile campaign that went as high up as the Vatican it re-opened.
The new priest at Ss Peter and Paul church, Canon Olivier Meney, has spoken of his ambitious plans to open the now renamed Ss Peter and Paul and Philomena church 24 hours a day.
He said: “The Bishop wants to open the church as a shrine dedicated to a particular purpose. He wants to promote devotion to the greater sacrament. The dream is to have 24/7 public worship in the church, day and night. We are going to do that slowly, by steps. It will become a beacon.”
Tony Prichard, who campaigned for the church to be re-opened, has welcomed the idea: “All the hard work done by the campaigners was amazing. To go from being completely closed to opening like this is fantastic.”
It is hoping that the church will be fully opened by the 25th March.
The church got its nickname after the massive copper roof was one of the first things that sailors could see as they approached Liverpool.
Canon Meney said that they are now trying to return the church to its former glory.
He said: “I am waiting for a report from an architect on the state of the building, so at the moment it is difficult to say what condition the church is in. But we have started to clean up the inside of the church with a lot of elbow grease. It is a real landmark, no doubt about it, and I dare to hope everyone in the community will be involved with it – not only Catholics but the whole community.”