Shellharbour City Parish priest Father Bryan Jones at All Saints Catholic Church in Shellharbour. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI
At the church after it was damaged in two fires last year.
It has been a long road, but the new place of worship for Shellharbour's Catholic community has finally opened.
Work on the impressive new All Saints Catholic Church began in 2010, but the building faced a lengthy delay after it was badly damaged in two suspicious blazes last year.
However, no vestige of damage remains in the College Avenue church.
All Saints has hosted weekend masses for the past fortnight and was officially opened at a dedication mass this week.
Visitors to the 570-seat church are immediately struck by its size, while their eyes are drawn by the sandstone altar, a metal sculpture of the risen Christ and the matching baptismal font.
Shellharbour City Parish priest Bryan Jones said the church also incorporated features that reflected the parish's history, including from Shellharbour's Stella Maris church and Warilla's Sacred Heart.
"Our story is built into the place," he said. "It's a great building to work in and by all reports it's a great building to be at mass in."
All Saints, which was originally due to open in August last year, is the central church for the parish of 12,000.
Landscaping work is continuing around the church.
Its opening marks the end of Sunday masses at Warilla.