The town of St. Vincent’s-St. Steven’s-Peter’s River is rallying against the sale of a local church property that could see a significant site in the town go with it.

The sale of the church is part of the ongoing efforts by the Roman Catholic Church to sell off its assets to settle sex abuse claims by the victims of the Mount Cashel Orphanage.

At issue, according to Mayor Verna Hayward, is the Private Kevin Kennedy Memorial Garden attached to the property.

She says the garden was developed in memory of the 21-year-old soldier who was killed in Afghanistan in 2007.

Hayward says the garden is a very important part of the community and it would be devastating to the community if it was lost.

Hayward says the priest at the church, who is on leave at the moment, gave the ok for the garden to be developed on the site. She doesn’t know what options the town has in terms of trying to save it.

She says there are a lot of unknowns as they don’t know if the garden is even included in the sale. She says they don’t know what their options are, but there will be “quite a battle” if the person who buys the property tries to get rid of the garden.

The town has planned a rally in support of saving the garden. It’s happening tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m.