Holy Angels Church

Holy Angels Church is a Roman Catholic church featured in the pen and paper RPG Cyberpunk 2020.

Overview
Holy Angels Church is a Roman Catholic church offering traditional Latin Mass Monday to Friday at 7am, Sunday at 8am and reformed Mass in English (Spanish speaking deacons available for translations.) at 8:30am Monday to Saturday and 10am Sunday. The church is a three story stone structure initially endowed by a terminally ill heiress with a guilty conscience.

Unstable world conditions and the reforms of Vatican III in 2014 have brought many alienated Catholics back to the comforting tradition of a conservative liturgy--combined with a more liberal, socially responsive church. With the acceptance of limited pre-conception birth control by the Pope in 2014, the way was open for many to reclaim their faith and for third-world countries to re-embrace the church while solving their overwhelming population problems.

The Church is staffed by two priests; Father Kevin, a rugged fifty year old Irishman born in Belfast, who came to the church late in life, and Father Paul (from Nigeria, where the church has been a growing concern for some time). Father Paul's wife, Lucy, is a lay sister of immigrant Italian parents, who grew up in Night City. They have two daughters.

Sisters Mary Grace, Elizabeth, Ruth and Theresa also live on the premises (all living quarters are on the third floor), running the soup kitchen and catechism classes. All four of the sisters are veterans of third-world stands much worse than Night City. Scars from the removal (when she gave up the world twelve years ago) of Sister Elizabeth's street tattoos are still visible. In addition to the sisters, there are 12 deacons (community members that hold a position in the church), including Daniel O'Flahery, owner of the tavern across the street.

The Church originally housed a small parochial school, which has since been transformed into a soup kitchen and homeless shelter. The homeless shelter can accommodate up to 250 people and is open 24 hours a day. The only entry requirement is that all weapons be turned over to Father Kevin for safekeeping (including cyberware ammunition). Confiscated weapons are kept in a locked metal storage closet in father Kevin's study on the third floor. Shelter space is filled up starting on the first floor and expanding into the second.

Free meals are available twice a day from 8-9am and from 5-6pm. Diners are not required to go to mass (but it makes the sisters happy). Feeding all these people isn't cheap and Holy Angel's is always just scraping by. Father Kevin is always on the lookout for a wealthy family or corporation that might be creatively convinced to donate. Additional income comes from dinners, bake sales and street fairs on church holidays, patrolled by the deacons, church-goers and many of the more loyal patrons of the Holy Angels shelter (this is one fun place on St. Patrick's Day, featuring popular snake races which draw out-of-town tourists). Free childcare is also offered with parents participating on a rotating basis.

All the stained glass windows are barred. At midnight, all doors are closed and IR and movement sensors around the church are activated (the doors have steel cores and reinforced hinges). There is always one member of the staff on duty inside with a panic button linked to the third floor. In case of emergencies, there is always enough food and fresh water for twenty people for one month stored on the third floor. Tasers and dart weapons are standard issue for church staff when walking in the community. Deacons are also responsible for, among other things, the safety of parishioners coming into the city.

Father Kevin has invoked the sanctuary of the church before the law on a few occasions (when trying to diffuse a tense gang situation. Whether the police desisted out of fear of God or Father Kevin is unknown.

Security Level: 1

The Holy Angels Church building is situated in Night City's Northside sector of downtown.