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St Joseph and St Mary
St Peter Port
Guernsey
GY1 1JQ
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Who we are
St Joseph and St Mary is a Roman Catholic church in St Peter Port, Guernsey.
We are a fellowship of believers, made in God's image and called as disciples of Christ to share the Good News with everyone through learning, listening, praying and working together actively to reach out to our communities.
We are a place to believe, belong, and become!
We are a fellowship of believers, made in God's image and called as disciples of Christ to share the Good News with everyone through learning, listening, praying and working together actively to reach out to our communities.
We are a place to believe, belong, and become!
Church Address
La Couperderie
St Peter Port,
Guernsey
GY1 1JQ
United Kingdom
Phone: 01481 720196
Download St Joseph and St Mary vCard with Mass Times
Church Pastor
Fr Christopher Rutledge
Parish Priest
La Couperderie
St Peter Port,
Guernsey
GY1 1JQ
United Kingdom
Phone: 01481 720196
Download Parish Priest Fr Christopher Rutledge vCard
Quote of the Day
Psalms 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Denomination
Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic churches in St Peter Port, Guernsey, United Kingdom
Roman Catholic churches in Guernsey, United Kingdom
Roman Catholic churches in United Kingdom
All churches in St Peter Port, Guernsey
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Leadership
Leader Name:
Fr Christopher Rutledge
Leader Position:
Parish Priest
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Leader Address:
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Leader Email:
Leader Bio:
Other Church Leaders:
Assistant Priests:
Fr Mohanraj (Nishan) Edward
Fr Gaston Afah
Alderney Priest: Canon Michael Hore
Priest in Retirement:
Canon Gerard Hetherington KCHS
Deacon: Rev Mark Leightley
Fr Mohanraj (Nishan) Edward
Fr Gaston Afah
Alderney Priest: Canon Michael Hore
Priest in Retirement:
Canon Gerard Hetherington KCHS
Deacon: Rev Mark Leightley
Fr Christopher Rutledge on Social Media:
St Joseph and St Mary Leadership Photos
Administration
Admin Name:
Mrs Yvonne Priaulx
Admin Position:
Parish Secretary
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Mailing Address
Driving Directions to St Joseph and St Mary
Travel/Directions Tips
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St Joseph and St Mary St Peter Port Mass Times
Sunday
8am Mass St Joseph’s
9.15am Mass Delancey
10.30am Mass St Joseph’s
4.30pm Sung Evening Prayer St Joseph’s
6pm Mass Notre Dame
Monday
7.30am Mass St Joseph’s
12 noon Mass Delancey
Tuesday
9.30am Mass followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament St Joseph’s
6pm Mass Notre Dame
Wednesday
7.30am Mass St Joseph’s
6pm Mass St Joseph’s
7pm Exposition, Rosary & Benediction St Joseph’s
Thursday
9.30am Mass followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament St Joseph’s
6pm Mass Delancey
Friday
7.30am Mass St Joseph’s
11am Mass Le Platon (not live-streamed)
6pm Mass (ad Orientem) St Joseph’s
Saturday
10am Mass St Joseph’s
6pm Vigil Mass Delancey
Live Mass
https://catholic.org.gg/live-mass/
Mass Times last updated on the 4th of July, 2021
8am Mass St Joseph’s
9.15am Mass Delancey
10.30am Mass St Joseph’s
4.30pm Sung Evening Prayer St Joseph’s
6pm Mass Notre Dame
Monday
7.30am Mass St Joseph’s
12 noon Mass Delancey
Tuesday
9.30am Mass followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament St Joseph’s
6pm Mass Notre Dame
Wednesday
7.30am Mass St Joseph’s
6pm Mass St Joseph’s
7pm Exposition, Rosary & Benediction St Joseph’s
Thursday
9.30am Mass followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament St Joseph’s
6pm Mass Delancey
Friday
7.30am Mass St Joseph’s
11am Mass Le Platon (not live-streamed)
6pm Mass (ad Orientem) St Joseph’s
Saturday
10am Mass St Joseph’s
6pm Vigil Mass Delancey
Live Mass
https://catholic.org.gg/live-mass/
Mass Times last updated on the 4th of July, 2021
Worship Languages
Dress code:
Children and Youth Activities
Under 12s:
Under 18s:
Local outreach & community activities:
Other activities & ministries
Special Needs/Accessibility:
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Main Bible:
Hymns and Songs:
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Average Youth Congregation:
Additional Info:
St Joseph and St Mary Photo Gallery
St Joseph and St Mary History
The Early Catholic Church in Guernsey
The Catholic faith had been removed from the island during the Protestant reformation but returned through exiled priests, who served Irish workers and soldiers who refused to surrender the religion of their homeland.
In 1749, a Jurat of the Royal Court wrote that the Church of England was the only religion in Guernsey, but within 50 years, fleeing anti-Christian fervour of the French Revolution, French Catholic clergy were in the island. Permanent priests were in the island from 1802 and in 1829 a chapel was built on the site of Notre Dame in Burnt Lane. The foundation stone of St Joseph’s Church was blessed by Father Eugene Connatty on 21 May 1846, only a short time after the land at Cordier Hill had been secured for a new church.
Cardinal Wiseman, Archbishop of Westminster, opened St Joseph’s in 1851. But he was treated with discourtesy, according to reports: The opening of the church received no coverage in local newspapers and a mob smashed windows of his Euston Terrace residence.
The Building of the Church
The church was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, whose work on the design of the Houses of Parliament is well known. It was in the gothic style, made almost completely of blue granite, with facings and pillars of Caen stone, and overlooked the Town. Like many of Pugin’s buildings, St Joseph’s has suffered from the ravages of time and fashion.
‘The architectural importance of St Joseph’s lies in its being the only work in the Channel Islands of Pugin.’
‘Today Pugin is much more appreciated than perhaps he was more than half a century ago’.
The name of Mary, wife of Joseph, was added to retain the title of the chapel at Burnt Lane, which had been closed at the opening of St Joseph’s in 1851. Notre Dame reopened in 1860 to serve the French-speaking community.
There was a spate of activity in the next few years as the church was decorated and prepared for consecration. The Le Messurier brothers took a particular interest in the Sacred Heart Altar – the elder of the two worked on the development of St Peter Port Harbour and went on to become an engineer of the Liverpool Docks. They carved the whole of the white Caen stone of the Reredos of the Sacred Heart Altar. Bishop Grant consecrated the altar, and designated it privileged in the early 1860s. The same period saw the windows in the main sanctuary, and in the Sacred Heart and Lady Chapels, filled with stained glass from the studio of Leveque in Beauvais.
The Parish Joins the Diocese of Portsmouth
In 1882 the Channel Islands, having originally been attached to the French Diocese of Coutances, left the Diocese of Southwark and became part of the Diocese of Portsmouth, a link that still remains. The first Bishop was John Vertue, who has gone into history as John the Magnificent. He visited Guernsey regularly and developed a great love for the church, which was the first he consecrated as the Bishop of the new Diocese.
On his annual visit in August 1885 he was able to consecrate the church, by then debt-free. The ceremony, including mass, took four hours, beginning at 8am. It was the first consecration of a church in Guernsey since the town church in 1312.
‘Guernsey can boast a church which, with the exception of the cathedral, cannot be surpassed by any in the diocese,’ said the Bishop.
Redecorations and Refurbishments
Former Catholic Dean, the late Mgr Raymond Lawrence, wrote in the 1980s that at its opening the church was virtually a shell – ‘the building was lacking in almost everything which could add to its beauty or give dignity to the services’.
Until 1882 there were only chairs for the congregation. The decoration of the walls, and the roof of the main sanctuary was completed by 1894, but now just the roof decoration remains. The Lady Chapel, for many the most beautiful part of the church, was completed a year later. And work on the spire, designed by Peter Paul Pugin, son of the original church architect, was started in March 1899. Electric lights were installed, replacing gas lights, in 1901, but the church’s Golden Jubilee was not celebrated – money was apparently too tight – and instead a number of improvements were carried out 10 years later.
In 1933 the church was completely renovated by men from the Cleaning Services of London. Although the reaction to their job was apparent delight, it is now believed that many of the original paintings on the walls of the church disappeared during ‘a thorough electric cleaning’.
Major changes to the church since the war have been rare, but significant. In 1971 a Guernsey granite altar with marble top replaced the Gothic high altar. The latest refurbishment took place in 1996-7, when the Church was cleaned, repainted and a new altar dedicated.
The Catholic faith had been removed from the island during the Protestant reformation but returned through exiled priests, who served Irish workers and soldiers who refused to surrender the religion of their homeland.
In 1749, a Jurat of the Royal Court wrote that the Church of England was the only religion in Guernsey, but within 50 years, fleeing anti-Christian fervour of the French Revolution, French Catholic clergy were in the island. Permanent priests were in the island from 1802 and in 1829 a chapel was built on the site of Notre Dame in Burnt Lane. The foundation stone of St Joseph’s Church was blessed by Father Eugene Connatty on 21 May 1846, only a short time after the land at Cordier Hill had been secured for a new church.
Cardinal Wiseman, Archbishop of Westminster, opened St Joseph’s in 1851. But he was treated with discourtesy, according to reports: The opening of the church received no coverage in local newspapers and a mob smashed windows of his Euston Terrace residence.
The Building of the Church
The church was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin, whose work on the design of the Houses of Parliament is well known. It was in the gothic style, made almost completely of blue granite, with facings and pillars of Caen stone, and overlooked the Town. Like many of Pugin’s buildings, St Joseph’s has suffered from the ravages of time and fashion.
‘The architectural importance of St Joseph’s lies in its being the only work in the Channel Islands of Pugin.’
‘Today Pugin is much more appreciated than perhaps he was more than half a century ago’.
The name of Mary, wife of Joseph, was added to retain the title of the chapel at Burnt Lane, which had been closed at the opening of St Joseph’s in 1851. Notre Dame reopened in 1860 to serve the French-speaking community.
There was a spate of activity in the next few years as the church was decorated and prepared for consecration. The Le Messurier brothers took a particular interest in the Sacred Heart Altar – the elder of the two worked on the development of St Peter Port Harbour and went on to become an engineer of the Liverpool Docks. They carved the whole of the white Caen stone of the Reredos of the Sacred Heart Altar. Bishop Grant consecrated the altar, and designated it privileged in the early 1860s. The same period saw the windows in the main sanctuary, and in the Sacred Heart and Lady Chapels, filled with stained glass from the studio of Leveque in Beauvais.
The Parish Joins the Diocese of Portsmouth
In 1882 the Channel Islands, having originally been attached to the French Diocese of Coutances, left the Diocese of Southwark and became part of the Diocese of Portsmouth, a link that still remains. The first Bishop was John Vertue, who has gone into history as John the Magnificent. He visited Guernsey regularly and developed a great love for the church, which was the first he consecrated as the Bishop of the new Diocese.
On his annual visit in August 1885 he was able to consecrate the church, by then debt-free. The ceremony, including mass, took four hours, beginning at 8am. It was the first consecration of a church in Guernsey since the town church in 1312.
‘Guernsey can boast a church which, with the exception of the cathedral, cannot be surpassed by any in the diocese,’ said the Bishop.
Redecorations and Refurbishments
Former Catholic Dean, the late Mgr Raymond Lawrence, wrote in the 1980s that at its opening the church was virtually a shell – ‘the building was lacking in almost everything which could add to its beauty or give dignity to the services’.
Until 1882 there were only chairs for the congregation. The decoration of the walls, and the roof of the main sanctuary was completed by 1894, but now just the roof decoration remains. The Lady Chapel, for many the most beautiful part of the church, was completed a year later. And work on the spire, designed by Peter Paul Pugin, son of the original church architect, was started in March 1899. Electric lights were installed, replacing gas lights, in 1901, but the church’s Golden Jubilee was not celebrated – money was apparently too tight – and instead a number of improvements were carried out 10 years later.
In 1933 the church was completely renovated by men from the Cleaning Services of London. Although the reaction to their job was apparent delight, it is now believed that many of the original paintings on the walls of the church disappeared during ‘a thorough electric cleaning’.
Major changes to the church since the war have been rare, but significant. In 1971 a Guernsey granite altar with marble top replaced the Gothic high altar. The latest refurbishment took place in 1996-7, when the Church was cleaned, repainted and a new altar dedicated.
St Joseph and St Mary Historical Photos
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