Our Lady of Lourdes Haslemere Surrey

A very warm welcome to the Catholic parish of Haslemere, Hindhead and Chiddingfold.

The parish consists of three churches, Our Lady of Lourdes in Haslemere, St.Anselm in Hindhead and St. Teresa of Avila in Chiddingfold. In addition to these three churches serving the parish, masses are also celebrated at the Holy Cross Hospital Chapel in Haslemere.

​Although the parish covers quite a wide geographical area with three churches, there is a strong unity of purpose and spirit of mutual support within the parish, with many opportunities for spiritual development and events of a more social nature for everyone to come together, creating a dynamic outward looking parish.

We extend a warm welcome to all who wish to join us in both our services and our social and outreach activities.

We greatly value opportunities to build on our relationship with other Christian Churches, local organizations and the wider community of which we are a part.

As a Roman Catholic Parish of approximately 400 parishioners, we form part of the Deanery of Guildford, the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton and the Universal Church under the leadership of Pope Francis.

Mission

The mission of the parish is to obey the command of our Lord, Jesus Christ, to bring the joy of the gospel to all whom we encounter, whether already baptised or not. Every decision made in our parish and all our activities should be guided by this command.

 

Download Our Lady of Lourdes vCard with Mass Times

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Download Parish Priests Fr Jonathan How & Fr Rajesh Minz vCard

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Hospital Visits

If you are expecting to be admitted to hospital for more than a day or two, you may wish to be visited by a Catholic Chaplain. NHS hospitals generally give you an opportunity to disclose your religion on their admission form and to indicate if you would like a visit. If you do, it is likely you will be visited within the following few days. If you do not say you are a Roman Catholic, the Chaplain will not normally be aware of you. A problem can arise if you are admitted as an emergency when only basic details, name age, address and next of kin may be recorded. You can also ask your family/friends to contact the parish office to inform the clergy.

Bereavement

The Parish does provide bereavement support by trained individuals, if you would like help please do contact Diane at the parish office in the first instance by telephone on 01428 643877 or by using the contact email form

'The 100 Club'

Charitable projects are selected by The Haslemere One World Group who make recommendations to the Parish Priest and the Pastoral Council.

Membership is open to everyone in Haslemere, Chiddingfold and Hindhead. Each member contributes £5 per month and a draw is held each month to determine the allocation of prizes. The first prize is £265 and second prize is £70. Anyone wanting to join should contact Richard Debbie Stanton

Our Lady Periyanayagi Church in Nangathur Parish

Is one of the oldest parishes in the archdiocese of Podicherry and Cuddalore. Fr Y Mahimaidoss Oli, the Parish Priest has been very grateful in the past for all the help he has received from the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes towards the building of the church and the wonderful generator. They would now like to provide seating for the elderly, sick and disabled parishioners.

House Building In Nepal

In December 2017, two intrepid members of our parish, father and son Vince and Jamie Prior are off to Nepal in the Himalayas as volunteers for the Habitat for Humanity house building programme. This programme aims to help with the building and reconstruction of houses in impoverished parts of Nepal where there has been an ongoing housing crisis even before the catastrophic devastation caused by the 2015 earthquake.

The Ecumenical Group

The role of the Ecumenical Group is to lead the Parish in sharing our Christian life together with the other Christians in our community as fully and widely as we can, in love and service to God, and to God’s world. In doing so, we acknowledge the sincerity of each tradition of faith; rejoice in our common Christian faith and heritage, and give thanks to the Holy Spirit for leading us into closer friendship and unity of purpose.

The Group has members from each of our parish churches and meets [with our priest] three times a year to initiate and co-ordinate activities in the community and with other Christian churches. We would be delighted to hear from any parishioner who would like to join our Group.

Parishioners participate in various traditional ecumenical events through the year including:

Walks of Witness on Good Friday, Lent Lunches, Stations of the Cross and services in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

An annual Taizé Service in Haslemere

Participation in the last two Haslemere Festivals: a talk by our Bishop and a talk and performance by the Wintershall Players

Hosting in our Hall the Hustings prior to the 2015 General Election

Annual Lent lunch and other activities as part of Chiddingfold’s ‘Joint Churches’ initiative

In 2017, we have participated in the Thy Kingdom Come worldwide programme initiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury and hosted in Haslemere by Methodist Church where we created a prayer station and led one of the services.

The Wave is a movement of local churches joining together to serve Haslemere in practical ways and is co-ordinated by 3 Counties Church and takes place on Saturday mornings. The annual summer Wave Week took a break in 2017 to allow a new vision for serving and blessing local people to be developed. Instead, 2017 saw the launch of the first 'Summer Reach' in Haslemere.

We are also represented and periodically host “Men’s Breakfast” which is an ecumenical group that comes together from time to time on a Saturday for a breakfast followed by a talk and discussion.

For more information on both Men’s Breakfasts and the Wave, please contact James Rapp

Haslemere One World Group

All charitable giving from funds raised in the Parish i.e. Lottery, 100 Club, Christmas Fair, etc. is now co-ordinated by the Haslemere One World Group who consider applications and make recommendations to the Parish Priest and the Parish Pastoral Council. If anyone believes that a particular charity should receive our support please could you contact Carole Holloway HERE

Thank you to all the work that has gone on to support the HOWG and to the new members for joining. We are looking forward to a really productive 2019 and would welcome more new members, for further details please contact Carole Holloway (Chair) or Gail Maguire

The Haslemere One World Group fundraises across the parish to help those in need, both at home and overseas. Small projects are identified, where our donations can make a real difference, often with a local connection. This facilitates sending money directly to the point of need. Our friendship, prayers, and moral support are appreciated as well as the financial contribution we can offer. Each year, fundraising generally focuses on two main projects overseas and one in our local area, whilst continuing to make smaller one-off donations and respond to emergencies. Most often, events take the form of enjoyable social occasions which parishioners and friends can share whilst, in the process, supporting those less fortunate. Projects are researched and events planned by a committee, based at St. Anselm’s.

There are many roles for which others can volunteer to publicise the projects and bring events to fruition. The committee are also very keen to recruit more representatives from the other churches of the parish, bringing fresh perspectives and charitable links. If you would like to be involved, in any capacity, or to discover more about the causes to which our parish efforts are currently directed, contact Haslemere One World Group

APF-Mill Hill's Red Boxes

Missio brings the hope of the Gospel where there are turmoil, poverty and uncertainty in the world, and where the Church is new, young or poor. Missio empowers local people to form and sustain communities of faith and they train and nurture future leaders so that the vital work of the Church in the world can take place.

APF-Mill Hill's Red Boxes can be found in over 200,000 Catholic homes in England and Wales. The pounds and pennies that are put into these boxes go to fund the vital work of the Catholic Church abroad, by bringing God's love and hope to the poorest and most in need.

It is easy to become a Red Box holder – you just need to contact David Allen and he will arrange to give you your very own Red Box. Put it somewhere prominent in your home and drop spare change into it whenever you can.  

 

Parking Facilities for the disabled (ramp access, toilet, T-Loop ) Baby Changing facilities Toilets ​  

Parish History

Our Lady of Lourdes; Holy Cross; St Anselm's Hindhead and St Teresa of Avila Chiddingfold form the Haslemere cluster of churches.

We are part of the Guildford Deanery which includes the Catholic parishes of Ash; Bramley; Burpham with Merrow; Chilworth; Cranleigh; Farnham; Godalming; Guildford; Haslemere; Heath End; Hindhead; Rydes Hill; Sutton Park and the University of Surrey.

The Deanery of Guildford forms part of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The Diocese of Arundel and Brighton was formed in 1965 by the division of the Diocese of Southwark.

Our Lady of Lourdes

Our Lady of Lourdes Church owes its origin to Evelyn Dudley Coats who bought land belonging to Lord Derby, presented it to the diocese, and paid for the building. The foundation stone was laid by Bishop Keating in 1923 and the church opened for worship two years later.

Miss Coats, a non-Catholic when she arrived in the area, lived in Fernhurst and ran a dairy farm which supplied the King Edward VII Sanatorium. At the time Haslemere belonged to the Godalming parish, but her friend Ethel Irving's fervour in trying to arrange for Mass to be said in Haslemere for the few Catholics in the district so impressed Miss Coats that she herself became a Catholic in 1907.

Before that, in 1908 the Franciscans from the Chilworth Friary celebrated Mass at Oaklands Hotel (now known as Redwood Manor) in a hired room, which became a little chapel placed under the patronage of St Gilbert of Sempringham. The Franciscans travelled to Haslemere by train on Saturday, stayed the night, and said Mass on Sunday mornings. It was Canon St George Kieran Hyland, Parish Priest of St Edmund's, Godalming who actually established the mission in Haslemere.

In 1923, while waiting for the new church to be built, the congregation moved to a club room adjoining the Swan Inn in the High Street. By 13th August 1924 the Church was finished and the 100 or so parishioners moved from the club room to the new Church.

When the church was built it assumed independent status and Father Edward Mostyn became the first Rector. There were fewer than 100 Catholics and the first years were difficult. Although the church had been provided by Miss Coats and the priest's house largely by Lady Bellew from Weysprings, heavy expenditure was incurred in laying out the grounds and furnishing the church. However, friends and visitors came to the rescue and a loan for £1,100 was repaid within four years. Being free of debt the church was finally consecrated by Bishop Peter Amigo of Southwark on 28th September 1932.

Our Lady of Lourdes; Holy Cross; St Anselm's Hindhead and St Teresa of Avila Chiddingfold form the Haslemere cluster of churches.

We are part of the Guildford Deanery which includes the Catholic parishes of Ash; Bramley; Burpham with Merrow; Chilworth; Cranleigh; Farnham; Godalming; Guildford; Haslemere; Heath End; Hindhead; Rydes Hill; Sutton Park and the University of Surrey.

The Deanery of Guildford forms part of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The Diocese of Arundel and Brighton was formed in 1965 by the division of the Diocese of Southwark. Holy Cross ​ In June 1917 the Daughters of the Holy Cross arrived in Shottermill and built their sanatorium. Their Chapel was opened in February 1929.

St Teresa of Avila

In 1953 Mass was being celebrated in the Girl Guides hut in Chiddingfold by the Josephite priests from Barrow Hills at Witley who took it in turns to conduct the Mass. Then, on 15th October 1959, the Church of St Teresa of Avila was opened in Woodside Road, Chiddingfold.

St Anselm

In 1934, Major Arthur & Mrs Hunt of Hale House, Churt, converted an old barn on their property into a private chapel and a monthly mass was established. Then, in 1937, the chapel was open for weekly Sunday Mass.

In 1950, when Churt - Hindhead was will part of Haslemere, the Parish Priest, Fr Pitts called a meeting of the community at which it was announced that Sunday Mass would be said at Pineacres at the invitation of Mr & Mrs Callanan. Following the meeting the site of St Anselm's was purchased for the sum of £700.

It was in 1954 that St Anselm's was created as an independent parish with Fr Tanner as its Parish Priest. Fr Tanner was ordered by the Bishop to find proper accommodation and he moved to Beacon Hill Park. The Priest's house was built in 1955 and a year later the statue of Our Lady and the Holy Child was designed and carved by Michael Lindsey-Clark.

Father Richard Incledon’s ministry saw the building of the church hall, adjacent to Our Lady of Lourdes, which was opened in 1987 by Bishop (later Cardinal) Cormac Murphy-O’Connor. This enabled events to be held in the spacious hall and a newly-formed parish council met in an upstairs room.

Father Tony Lovegrove took on the role of parish priest from 1989 to 2001, his place being taken by Father Chris Benyon who by then had charge of 500 parishioners who attended Mass in the four venues. Father Stephen Hardaker came for a short three years before Father Chris Bergin was welcomed to the parish community in September 2010. When he was moved by the Bishop in 2015, Father Fergal McGuinness, on loan to the diocese from the parish of Santa Rosa in California, took on responsibility for the three centres. He left in June 2017 to be replaced by Father Ireneusz (Irek) Stadler who had previously served a Polish church in Thunder Bay Diocese, Canada.

The stained glass windows in Our Lady of Lourdes were designed and manufactured by two different stained glass window artists.

The main window and those in the Lady Chapel were designed by Geoffrey Fuller Webb and date from 1935 and 1937. Geoffrey Fuller Webb was born in 1879 and is the nephew of architect Sir Ashton Webb who was responsible for many important buildings in London which include the eastern façade of Buckingham Palace, Admiralty Arch and the frontage of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

In 1914 Geoffrey Fuller Webb set up his own studio in East Grinstead and examples of his work can be found at Woolwich Town Hall that was constructed between 1903 and 1906. Although a devout Catholic his work can be found in both Catholic and Anglican churches in Britain and abroad. Our Lady of Lourdes is very fortunate to have three examples of Geoffrey’s work, other churches that benefited from his talents are;

The Slipper Chapel at the Catholic National Shrine at Walsingham,

St James Catholic Church, Spanish Place, Marylebone,

Our Lady and St Dominic Catholic Church, Haverstock Hill,

All Saints Catholic Church, Oxted,

St John. Felbridge,

Manchester Cathedral and Tewkesbury Abbey. Geoffrey Fuller Webb’s work can be identified by an engraved spider’s web with the date usually located in the bottom right hand corner of the stained glass design. He died in 1954.

The Dove over the main entrance and the St Gilbert window were designed by Clifford Durrant and were installed in 1991 and 1993 respectively. Clifford Durrant has a studio is Horsham where he produces new works of ‘art glass’ to commission as well as undertaking large and small conservation projects. Examples of Clifford’s work can be found at; St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Chiddingfold,

St Gabriel Catholic Church, Billingshurst,

St Peter & St Paul, Ewhurst,

Unitarian & Free Christian Church, Horsham.

Holy Cross ​ In June 1917 the Daughters of the Holy Cross arrived in Shottermill and built their sanatorium. Their Chapel was opened in February 1929.

St Teresa of Avila

In 1953 Mass was being celebrated in the Girl Guides hut in Chiddingfold by the Josephite priests from Barrow Hills at Witley who took it in turns to conduct the Mass. Then, on 15th October 1959, the Church of St Teresa of Avila was opened in Woodside Road, Chiddingfold.

St Anselm

In 1934, Major Arthur & Mrs Hunt of Hale House, Churt, converted an old barn on their property into a private chapel and a monthly mass was established. Then, in 1937, the chapel was open for weekly Sunday Mass.

In 1950, when Churt - Hindhead was will part of Haslemere, the Parish Priest, Fr Pitts called a meeting of the community at which it was announced that Sunday Mass would be said at Pineacres at the invitation of Mr & Mrs Callanan. Following the meeting the site of St Anselm's was purchased for the sum of £700.

It was in 1954 that St Anselm's was created as an independent parish with Fr Tanner as its Parish Priest. Fr Tanner was ordered by the Bishop to find proper accommodation and he moved to Beacon Hill Park. The Priest's house was built in 1955 and a year later the statue of Our Lady and the Holy Child was designed and carved by Michael Lindsey-Clark.