For family search enquiries please go to the contact section.
Served by Monks of Belmont Abbey
Parish Priest:
Rev Dom Matthew Carney O.S.B.
Tel: 01946 692342
PARISH ACCOUNTS.
Follow the link below for the audited accounts of our Parish for the year ended 31st August 2007.
BELMONT_ABBEY_Whitehaven_31_August_2007.doc
Information on the Draft Diocesan Proposals for our Parish.
The parish of St Begh, Whitehaven, and the chapel of Ss Gregory and Patrick.
A proposal that:
The chapel of Ss Gregory and Patrick would be expected to cease to have a Sunday/vigil Mass if Mass attendance continues to fall.
There are no other changes whist the parish continues to be served by priests from Belmont Abbey.Comments from the Mission Review Team and its Core Group
Comments from the Mission Review Team and its Core Group
• Sunday/vigil Mass could be continued for some time in the chapel of Ss Gregory and Patrick. This would be a decision made by the parish priest and depend on it continuing with its present Mass attendance.
Our Parish response to these proosals has now been submitted. the Core Group will consider them along with all the other parish proposals and then make their final recommendatiosn to the Bishop, who has the final say.
Our Parish response is printed below.
ST. BEGH’S PARISH, WHITEHAVEN.
PARISH RESPONSE.
Two parish meetings were held to consider the proposals made by the Core Group, since the proposals only considered our chapel at Quay St, we have only made a response concerning the proposals for that chapel. This response was approved by the Parish Council at a meeting on 28th April. We include first some background information about the chapel, most of which was also submitted in our previous parish submission and evaluation form.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
QUAY ST CHAPEL – ST. GREGORY and ST. PATRICK.
The Quay St chapel dedicated to St. Gregory and St. Patrick was built in 1898, originally as the first infant school in the parish, eventually this incorporated a chapel where Sunday mass was also celebrated. In the 1980’s after the building of a new infant school, part of the building was sold off and the rest redeveloped to form a chapel and meeting room, including a toilet and kitchen and a small area of car parking. It is insured for a value of £390,000 and is in overall good condition. It has a maximum seating capacity of about 100.
The chapel is right in the middle of Whitehaven town centre, immediately adjacent to the new marina development, and just on the edge of the main area of shops; there is car parking space for about 5 cars, but also with two large pay and display car parks immediately next door to the chapel.
The chapel is completely integrated into the parish of St. Begh’s, with the daily services there being co-odinated with the services at St. Begh’s, which is about 1 mile away. The chapel serves the many elderly and retired parishioners who live in the town centre of Whitehaven. There are a number of sheltered homes developments in Whitehaven and a great many flats in the town centre where many elderly people live. There is a sort of standard flow of the retired and elderly moving into the town centre from the outlying reaches of Whitehaven and Cleator and Egremont. Because of the large number of elderly and disabled people, attending the chapel there is a ramp giving access to the chapel, a disabled toilet and also a loop system for the hard of hearing.
In the chapel there is a dividing screen, separating the chapel itself from the meeting room, this can though be lifted making the whole building available for use for services, this happens on Sundays, but also on Thursdays and Saturdays, because of the larger mass attendance on those days.
There is a service every day at Quay st, either a mass or eucharistic service. A number of parish eucharistic ministers also operate from the chapel. A team of 3 sacristans and others such as cleaners care for the chapel. The standard timetable at Quay St is as a follows, with the average attendance listed, as counted by the chapel sacristans.
Monday Mass 9.00am 25
Tuesday Mass 9.00am 25
Wednesday Eucharistic service 9.00am 20
Thursday Mass 10.30am 55
Friday Eucharistic service 9.00am 20
Saturday Mass 10.15am, (55) confession 11.00 – 12.00noon, followed
by Benediction.
Sunday. Mass 8.00am. 70.
The Holy Rosary is prayed before every mass and service at Quay st, led by members of the congregation. Benediction on Saturday morning is attended by those who come to confession and about a dozen who stay for the whole hour.
The chapel is especially well attended especially on Thursdays and Saturdays, which are the two market-days in Whitehaven, hence the masses being mid-morning. People who attend other parishes on Sundays attend these masses, but many of them also have addresses within the large St. Begh’s parish.
The confessions and benediction on Saturday morning are the main times in the parish for both these sacraments and services.
All funerals, baptisms and marriages are celebrated at St. Begh’s. On Holydays of obligation there is a mass at 10.30am at Quay St, which is normally very well attended, often over a 100 people.
The chapel is in a good condition, in the past 3 years it has been completely re-decorated inside and out, with a new exterior wall being built. There is a new heating system in place and new sound system and upgraded electrical system. Some works were listed in the 5 yearly survey undertaken earlier this year, such as repairs to the roofing and guttering and some damp problems in parts of the chapel.
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RESPONSE TO PROPOSALS OF MARCH 2008.
"GEM CHURCH."
Parishioners of St. Begh’s were obviously concerned by the proposals made by the core group, since they placed some doubt as the future of the Quay st chapel, which is held in the greatest affection by parishioners. They unanimously felt that the chapel at Quay St should be maintained since in some way the chapel at Quay St could be considered to be a "Gem" Church. It is right in the middle of Whitehaven town centre, immediately next door to the main shopping area and surrounded by car parks, and only a very short walk to the harbour/marina. Very few Catholic Churches are in such a prominent location and it was felt that great efforts should be made to maintain such a presence. This is especially important, parishioners felt because of the great many retried people who live in Whitehaven town centre, in the various homes and also flat developments. The chapel is very convenient for such elderly and retired people, many of whom would not be able to attend Church elsewhere, even though St. Begh’s Church is only a mile away from Quay st. Therefore we felt that the chapel enabled the parish to be very effective in it’s mission work with the elderly and retired members of our community.
The chapel is also very well used and not over-sized. There is a good congregation on weekdays, sometimes even more than on a Sunday. This is especially the case on the market days of Thursday and Saturday when there is a later mass in the chapel, and frequently over 60 people attend the masses on these days. On holydays of obligation there is a far higher than normal Sunday mass attendance, often well over a 100. There is also a very strong sense of community amongst those who attend the chapel, and a real ministry amongst the largely elderly congregation in caring for one another. In addition a number of eucharistic ministers operate from the Chapel.
It was therefore felt that because of it’s location, it’s size and good congregation that the chapel could in some ways be considered a Gem Church, although we appreciate that it does not fit all the characteristics for such a designation-not being a parish church for example.
It should be noted that the Chapel is in a good condition, over recent years new heating, lights, electric’s and sound systems have been installed and that chapel has been completely re-decorated inside and out. Work has also been undertaken to the roof with new guttering, and also some damp problems in one of the walls have been remedied.
PROPOSALS.
The Core Group proposed that the chapel might cease to be used for worship if the mass attendance continues to fall, it was felt by parishioners of St. Begh’s that attendance is probably falling at the chapel, but no more than in any other local catholic church and probably less of a decline. This is because the elderly and retired tend to move into the town centre from other outlying parts of the parish and other local towns, moving into the great many flat developments and sheltered accommodation schemes in the town centre. This ensures a regular stream of new worshippers at Quay St, and underlies it’s importance in caring for and ministering to the retried and elderly members of our parish and indeed of other local parishes. Whitehaven town centre has a number of new housing developments taking place, flat conversions and the like and the continuing development of the harbour area, which may possible help to reduce the fall in mass attendance..
FUTURE.
Parishioners recognised that fact that the Diocese has to plan for the future and that there is a degree of uncertainty about the situation in Whitehaven because of the role of Belmont Abbey in serving the parish of St. Begh’s and what Belmont’s future plans were. If the day arrives when St. Begh’s and therefore Quay St are handed over to the Diocese it is hoped that special consideration will be given to Quay st and it’s particular importance in caring for and serving the many elderly and retired Catholics who live in the Whitehaven town centre, many of whom would find it very difficult to attend another Church. Since one of the mission priorities of the parish is the care it should offer to the many sick, housebound and elderly members of the parish, we would argue that maintaining Quay st is an indispensable part of that missionary work.
We acknowledge that Quay st is only a short distance away from the Parish Church of St. Begh, but many elderly and retired persons have commented how they would find it difficult to attend St. Begh’s, even the relatively short extra distance would preclude many form attending. It should also be noted that a number of elderly parishioners cannot attend mass on a Sunday because of a lack of transport, the absence/rareness of buses on a Sunday, but they can attend mass at Quay St on either a Thursday or a Saturday, when there is a later mass time, 10.15/10/30am, and because it is the only Church they can get to easily by public transport, because of it’s location in the town centre.
The chapel is also proving to be increasingly popular with small groups in the parish and throughout the Deanery, this is because of it’s location, ease of parking and it’s size. A small inter-parish prayer group meets there, there have been attempts to start a small Sunday night youth prayer group there, again involving other parishes, the local catholic charismatic group has recently enquired about using the chapel for it’s monthly meetings, and as Fr. Matthew and the Parish Council were formulating this report there was an informal enquiry about using the chapel for the celebration of the Tridentine mass.(no response has been made to this request yet and all proper procedures will be followed in considering it.) We therefore believe that the chapel can be a real asset in the mission aims not only of the parish but also in the local Deanery.
There is the issue of financing the Quay st chapel, as well as the much larger St. Begh’s church and this is certainly an issue, since both Churches have had expensive restoration and repair works. St. Begh’s parish though is fortunate in that it belongs to the Belmont Abbey Mission Trust, which holds it’s funds in a restricted account. St. Begh’s parish has not therefore suffered the decline in it’s reserves as have most other local churches because of the financial difficulties of the Diocese. The parish at present despite a lot of recent expenditure, has about £120,000 in reserve. There are plans also to develop part of the presbytery into flats thus increasing the income of the parish.
BELMONT’S ROLE.
It was stated in the core Groups proposals that it would be up to the parish priest to decide if mass would continue to be celebrated at Quay St. After discussion with the Abbot of Belmont, Fr. Matthew, the Parish priest has announced to the Parish that Quay St will continue to be served and operated as at present as long as Belmont Abbey is caring for the Parish. Fr. Abbot and Fr. Matthew would hope that if the day ever comes when the parish is taken over by the Diocese that the Diocese will make the greatest effort to maintain in some form the chapel at Quay St. Some parishioners suggested the possibility that if Sunday mass became impossible because of a lack of clergy, could the chapel be maintained for some weekdays masses/services?
IN CONCLUSION.
Parishioners of St. Begh’s and Quay st appreciated the long term difficulties of maintaining Churches, and understand that the fall in the number of clergy may make it difficult to staff parishes as at present, and also because of the financial pressures of maintaining older church buildings. Parishioners did feel that the particular mission of Quay with the many elderly and retired people of Whitehaven and it’s excellent location and perfect size warranted it’s continued operation. Parishioners also though feel that if possible the town of Whitehaven should be staffed by a minimum of two priests. If the long term plans of the Diocese are to only have one Priest in the town, it was felt that this was not sufficient for the pastoral needs of the town. If Belmont Abbey withdraws from St. Begh’s it was felt that two Diocesan Clergy should be appointed to Whitehaven, since even with enormous lapsation amongst the catholic community there are still nearly 1000 Catholics attending mass weekly. Such numbers, even with future lapsation, would justify two clergy in Whitehaven, to be assisted by the present two Deacons in training.
Also find below
Fr. Matthew's latest sermons.
Various pictures of St. Begh's Church and a history of the mission in Whitehaven.
+ SERMON +
Follow the link below for this weeks thrilling sermon.
HISTORY OF THE MISSION IN WHITEHAVEN
The Catholic Church began its mission in Whitehaven in 1706, when Dom Francis Rich, a Benedictine of Saint Gregory's, then at Douai, arrived in Cumberland to serve the growing Catholic population. This began a much appreciated Benedictine presence in Whitehaven, which continues to this day.
The Church on the present site was built in 1834 and designed by A. Welby Pugin. At the time it was regarded as one of “the most striking” Catholic churches,“ altogether bold and novel.” The cost of the whole structure was £5,000. One hundred and fourteen years later, in 1982, it cost over £100,000 simply to repair, restore and re-decorate St. Begh’s to its original standard of stability and finish. Included in the restorations were facilities for Mothers and Babies, for Children's Liturgy, for recording cassettes for the sick and access for the disabled.
The foundation stone of the Priory Church was laid by Bishop Dorian in 1865, during the incumbency of Dom Dominic Lynass, and the Church was opened for worship on 29 October 1868. The Church was dedicated to Saint Gregory and Saint Bega, an Irish princess, who fled to Cumbria to begin her mission to the native people.
St. Begh's - Before the spire was removed
In 1993, further work took place to enhance the beauty and dignity of the Sanctuary. A permanent stone altar was erected and the Sanctuary floor was re-carpeted. The pinnacle tower, that had originally housed the Most Blessed Sacrament, which had been removed from the church was, once again, after restoration, returned to the Sanctuary as a fitting Sanctuary House, thereby restoring the Blessed Sacrament to its central point of importance and reverence. The ceilings in the Lady Chapel and also St. Benedict’s Chapel were restored to their former glory, with appropriate stencilling. The old oak gates were also returned to the side chapels and all the Sanctuary was restored. The Miners' Chapel at the back of the church, containing the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, was also restored, thereby emphasising the importance of the history of the mining community of this town. Today, St. Begh’s church is considered to be one of the finest Catholic Churches in the north of England.
View of St. Begh's Church
Today the Mission is served from Belmont Abbey, Hereford and the local people are still deeply appreciative of their Benedictine heritage. Saint Begh's is seen as the mother Church of the area and is a worthy monument to all the devotion and hard work of many generations of Clergy and Lay people. The monastic Community are always delighted to welcome visitors, believing Benedictine hospitality to be one of the foundation stones of their apostolate.
The name "Begh" is a derivation of "Bega" or "Bees". At St. Bees was a priory in the village then known as Kirkybee, (Church town of Bega), a name which enshrines the legend of an Irish princess, who had dedicated herself to Christ.
Bega fled the royal court rather than marry a prince from Norway. Tradition states that she was miraculously transported to Cumberland, in England. There St. Oswald counselled her in a hermitage, and St. Aidan received her vows as a nun. Bega founded St. Bee's Monastery. She served as abbess there until her death. She is also remembered in the village of Kilbees, in Scotland. Around her name, and particularly around a bracelet which she left with the community when she sought safety elsewhere, there has grown up a variety of legends.
For a fuller account of the Life and Legend see "In search of Bega" by Daniel Hay (available from the St. Begh's Bookshop).
In this illustration, St. Begh is shown with the staff of an Abbess, a boat for her sea crossing, a lily for her virginity and carrying in her arm the Church of St. Begh.
The Caption, S.BEGHA.ORA.PRO.NOBIS, reads "St. Begh pray for us"
The following information has been taken from the booklet produced for the 125th Anniversary Celebrations of St. Begh's Priory Church in 1993. Please click on the link to read more
The Christian Faith Our Heritage
