A CHURCH has celebrated its reopening mass more than a year after a wilful fire caused major damage to the building.

St Patrick's Church on Dumbarton Road was left with major damage after vandals set fire to bins at the back of the building on August 17, 2015.

It is believed the criminals intended to destroy the building, however, on Sunday the church opened its doors to its congregation once more.

And no one was happier than Father William McGinley who was left heartbroken as he watched the inferno destroy the beloved church.

Numerous members of the congregation as well as the Archbishop of Glasgow attended the event which took place on Sunday.

A spokesperson for the archdiocese of Glasgow told the Post Archbishop Tartaglia visited to pray with community who had been left without a church since the devastating fire.

The spokesperson added: "A special thanks was made to the Church of Scotland who had been really hospitable since the church closed.

"The new church is in many ways better because it's newer and has updated and better design prospects.

"It's a vote of confidence for the future."

Speaking to the Post at the time, Father McGinley he felt physical pain as he watched the blaze, which started at around 5.25pm.

He said: “The heat was so intense as I approached the fire and due to the black acrid smoke I could barely see the young man who had come to my door to alert me of the fire."

The incident was investigated by police, however, no arrests were made.

Work began to restore the church at the beginning of the year and was hoped to be finished in June in order to allow activity to return to normal and depart from their temporary home at Old Kilpatrick Parish Church, which was kindly lent by the Church of Scotland to the Catholic congregation.