St Rochs Parish
The settling of the Irish played a major role in the opening of St Roch’s Church and Primary School (1907) by Canon Daniel Collins (Co Cork). His successor, Canon Edward Lawton (Co Cork), was influential in the opening of St Roch’s Secondary School in 1932. 1 other PP (Fr Malachy Bergin, Co Tipperary) and 29 of the 61 Assistants in St Roch’s came from Ireland, representing 13 different counties.
11 Men from The Garngad have become Priests in the Archdiocese of Glasgow (5), Archdiocese of Dublin (1), Diocese of Galloway (1), Congregation of the Passionists (1), Order of Saint Benedict (1), Salesians of Don Bosco (1) and Servants of the Paraclete Fathers (1). Others have become Religious Brothers and Monks.
Hundreds of Women from The Garngad have become Religious Sisters and Nuns. Whilst the overwhelming majority joined the Little Sisters of the Poor (who were in The Garngad for 124 years between 1861 and 1992) others have joined the Sisters of Notre Dame, The Holy Ghost Sisters, The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary and the Salesian Sisters.
St Roch’s Parish, which covers The Garngad and Germiston, is also home to 3 Catholic Schools: St Gilbert’s Primary (Germiston) and St Roch’s Primary and Secondary Schools (Garngad).
Today the Parish Community is as multi-cultural as ever with people from countries through out Europe, Africa and The Middle and Far East worshipping in St Roch’s. St Roch’s, under the current Parish Priest (Father Joseph Boyle, Co Donegal) celebrates 100 years since its foundation and opening of the church in 2007—among the many ways to mark this event a Souvenir History (‘St Roch’s, Garngad, 100 years in the ‘The Garden of God’) has been produced.
