A church in Bolton will be closed until further notice as maintenance work takes place.

A notice has gone up outside St Edmund’s Church, located in the centre of town, has advised worshippers of the change.

The church has said where the gatherings will take place while it is closed.

The 11.45am Holy Rosary and the 12.15pm Holy Mass on Thursday and the 10am Holy Mass on Sunday will take place at the St Patrick’s Church, located on Great Moor Street, until further notice.

The note outside the church states: “Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

“Further information will follow in due course.”

The church has been popular with the Ukrainian community in Bolton.

A separate notice was placed outside the building for their information.

It said that the Ukrainian Mass, which takes place at 8am on Sunday, has also transferred to St Patrick’s Church.

A spokesperson for the Diocese of Salford said: “The church is undergoing standard health and safety checks as part of our routine maintenance.

“The parish community will be kept informed with any updates.”

The church recently celebrated father Marian and the 64th anniversary of his ordination to the sacred priesthood.

It was founded in 1861 after Reverend Canon Carter worked to spread the faith in Bolton.

The church is run by the Salford Diocese.

A diocese is a group of churches run by one bishop.

These are normally divided up into parishes which are then overseen by a priest.

The Catholic Church contains just under 3,000 dioceses worldwide.

The St Edmund’s Church was amalgamated with St Patrick’s in the early 2000s.

The change came as other historic churches in the town, St Peter’s and St Paul’s, were closed.

The move came about due to a shortage of priests and also due to a decline of the number of worshippers in Bolton.