served by the Assumptionist Fathers (AA)
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Our Lady Immaculate & St Andrew | ||
| Roman Catholic Church, Hitchin served by the Assumptionist Fathers (AA) |
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Pastoral Office: |
The history of our parish
What follows is a brief history of our parish. You can read Fr Andrew Odell's more detailed history, One Hundred Years, here
The earliest reference to a religious foundation in this area goes back to the eighth century when Offa, King of Mercia built a house for the Benedictine Order on the banks of the River Hiz. This is roughly where the Anglican Parish Church now stands.
In the year 1317, thanks to the generosity of the local people, a Carmelite Priory was established. They cared for the spiritual life of the community until their dissolution in 1539.
Little was recorded about the life of the catholic community over the ensuing centuries until 1890 when Fr Spink, a member of the Fathers of St Andrew (hence our second title) celebrated Mass for twelve Catholics in a house in Nightingale Road.
Troubles in France at around this time meant that the Fathers of St Edmund and the Sisters of the Sacred Heart were expelled from their houses there and came to settle in Hitchin. St Michael's College was set up (where the Police Station now stands) and the Sisters formed the first primary school and, eventually, their own private school.
The First World War helped to bring the Catholic community more fully into the life of the town and helped to expand the numbers of parishioners through the development of the railways and other forms of business.
The Assumptionist Fathers, who now serve in the parish arrived in 1926 and took over the college and the parish in the Summer of that year. The schools and parish developed quite rapidly during the 30's and there was outreach to the villages around the town.
Following the Second World War, the town expanded quite dramatically. People moved here from the North of England and Scotland and the town experienced quite an influx of people from other countries -Poland and Italy to name but two. The church schools grew as demand for places increased. In fact, the need for a new school meant that, by the late 60s, St Michael's College moved to Stevenage to a new site for the boys' school. This school eventually amalgamated with St Angela's School for Girls to form the present John Henry Newman School. At around the same time, the numbers of children attending our primary school had increased to such an extent that a new site for Our Lady's School had to be opened in Old Hale Way. By the 70s it had become clear that, with such a large Mass attendance, a new church would be needed to allow full scope to the parish worship.
The design of the new church blends the best of traditional building techniques with the most up-to-date engineering principles. The Altar (and, since March 31st 2000, the Baptismal Font) together with the tabernacle base and candlesticks are of Travertine marble, a stone which is similar to that found in the Pantheion and St Peter's in Rome. The church has been provided with carved statues and plaques by the late Theodore kern, a distinguished alumnus of the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and a parishioner of Hitchin. The fine organ we possess was designed by Saxon Tate, the noted builder of such instruments. The church was consecrated on December 18th 1977 by Cardinal Hume, Archbishop of Westminster.
The church continues to develop. Numbers worshipping on Sundays are in the 900s. We have quite an outreach and the structures of the parish have been amended and developed to ensure that the church plays a full and active part in the life of the town, joining in and helping to organise activities which draw together all sectors of our society as well as opening the facilities of the site to the community.
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Church of Our Lady Immaculate
& St Andrew Nightingale Road Hitchin |
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