Centenary of the First Mass at St Luke and St Teresa in Wincanton
28 October 2008
Wincanton’s Parish Priest, Father Louis Beasley-Suffolk, has been a busy man recently, but he’s found the time to make sure cliftondiocese.com can share in his parish’s celebrations marking the Catholic community’s first one hundred years in their beautiful St Luke and St Teresa church.
Serious preparation for the centenary started a year ago with one exception, namely, that of writing a concise parish history. During his term of office as Parish Priest (1995 to 2006), my predecessor Father Barnabas Page had instigated the project by eliciting (more like instructing!?) the help of two ladies to undertake this task. Margaret Burgess and Bernadette Kiddle were the two volunteers, and the results of their research and persistent detection work has resulted in the publication of a fascinating history of which the parish can be proud. The volume of information amassed was so great that from an early stage it was apparent that careful editing would be essential. The result of this editing means that the parish archive has grown immeasurably, and information is still being received which is a combination of personal histories and events from the earliest beginnings of the parish.
There was a little consternation over the day on which the main celebration should occur, as St Luke’s Day, 18 October, fell on a Saturday, not only that, but it clashed with the Wincanton Carnival and the two events occurring simultaneously would have been a nightmare! And so it was decided that the Friday evening, 17 October was more appropriate, and would afford a greater opportunity for more people to attend, including our own clergy and the clergy of other denominations. Then forces were marshalled, ideas were discussed and an overall plan evolved. The net result was a glorious liturgical celebration followed by a sumptuous feast on Friday 17 October sandwiched between a flower festival designed to encourage the public to enter the church, while at the same time give them an opportunity to browse through a display of the parish’s past which filled the south cloister. Tea and coffee were available to round off the tour. The fortnight’s festival will culminated with a concert to be held in the church on Sunday 26 October, both arranged and performed by our musicians. Further concerts are being planned to take place throughout the next year, and through our positive advertising, invite the population of the town to ‘step inside’ and ‘taste and see’.
Would you believe it, but the next centenary is only five years away when the parish will celebrate the consecration of the church on St Luke’s Day in 1913! C’est la vie!
Father Louis Beasley-Suffolk
Wincanton’s Parish Priest, Father Louis Beasley-Suffolk, has been a busy man recently, but he’s found the time to make sure cliftondiocese.com can share in his parish’s celebrations marking the Catholic community’s first one hundred years in their beautiful St Luke and St Teresa church.
Serious preparation for the centenary started a year ago with one exception, namely, that of writing a concise parish history. During his term of office as Parish Priest (1995 to 2006), my predecessor Father Barnabas Page had instigated the project by eliciting (more like instructing!?) the help of two ladies to undertake this task. Margaret Burgess and Bernadette Kiddle were the two volunteers, and the results of their research and persistent detection work has resulted in the publication of a fascinating history of which the parish can be proud. The volume of information amassed was so great that from an early stage it was apparent that careful editing would be essential. The result of this editing means that the parish archive has grown immeasurably, and information is still being received which is a combination of personal histories and events from the earliest beginnings of the parish.
There was a little consternation over the day on which the main celebration should occur, as St Luke’s Day, 18 October, fell on a Saturday, not only that, but it clashed with the Wincanton Carnival and the two events occurring simultaneously would have been a nightmare! And so it was decided that the Friday evening, 17 October was more appropriate, and would afford a greater opportunity for more people to attend, including our own clergy and the clergy of other denominations. Then forces were marshalled, ideas were discussed and an overall plan evolved. The net result was a glorious liturgical celebration followed by a sumptuous feast on Friday 17 October sandwiched between a flower festival designed to encourage the public to enter the church, while at the same time give them an opportunity to browse through a display of the parish’s past which filled the south cloister. Tea and coffee were available to round off the tour. The fortnight’s festival will culminated with a concert to be held in the church on Sunday 26 October, both arranged and performed by our musicians. Further concerts are being planned to take place throughout the next year, and through our positive advertising, invite the population of the town to ‘step inside’ and ‘taste and see’.
Would you believe it, but the next centenary is only five years away when the parish will celebrate the consecration of the church on St Luke’s Day in 1913! C’est la vie!
Father Louis Beasley-Suffolk
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