St David Lewis and St Francis Xavier Church is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, Wales. It was built in 1847 and designed by

Charles Hansom Charles Francis Hansom (27 July 1817 – 30 November 1888) was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architecture, Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival style. Career He was born of a Cathol ...

in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. The church is dedicated to two

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

saints,

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

and the local David Lewis, who is buried nearby. It is located on Porthycarne Street near the town centre. In 2019, a

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

in the church was dedicated to David Lewis. The church is a Grade II listed building.

History

Foundation

After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, Monmouthshire continued to have a local

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

community. In 1616, David Lewis was born in

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

, he became a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, and after his training he returned to work in Monmouthshire for thirty years. He headed the Jesuit college at

Cwm, Llanrothal Cwm (also known as Come and Welsh Jesuit College of St Francis Xavier) was a Jesuit gathering place, Ecclesiastical province and college in Llanrothal, Herefordshire, England. It became a Jesuit college in 1622. Based in a large farmhouse, the ...

. In 1678, after praying at the Gunter Mansion he was arrested at

St Michael's Church, Llantarnam The Parish Church of St Michael's & All Angels is a Grade II* listed parish church in Llantarnam, near Cwmbran, Torfaen, Wales. History The church was built in the early 12th century on the site of an earlier building, possibly the ancient chap ...

, after being implicated in the fictitious

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...

, was executed in 1679, and buried in the graveyard of the

Priory Church of St Mary, Usk The Priory Church of St Mary is the parish church of Usk, Monmouthshire, Wales. Its origin was as the church of Usk Priory, a Benedictine nunnery founded by Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke in the twelfth century. After the Dissolution of t ...

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

Usk - St David Lewis and St Francis Xavier
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 20 June 2022 In the 1700s,

Catholic Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

was celebrated in the home of the Davis family, Llancayo House, in Usk. In 1799, Fr Joseph Hunt was appointed by William Sharrock the Vicar Apostolic of the Western District to serve the Usk

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. In 1803, he was succeeded by Fr Charles Haly. Until 1847, Mass was celebrated in a chapel in Porthycarne Street. After the construction of the present church, the old chapel became a school and later the parish hall.

Construction

In 1847, the present church was built. Francis McDonnell, a local solicitor, donated the land and paid for half of the construction costs. The architect was

. On 14 October 1847, the church was opened by the

Vicar Apostolic of the Welsh District The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff ( la, Archidioecesis Cardiffensis; cy, Archesgobaeth Caerdydd) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church which covers the south-east portion of Wales and the county of Herefordshire in ...

Joseph Brown. In the 1850s and 1860s windows, made by Hardman & Co., were installed in the church. In 1865, the tower, also designed by Hansom, was added. In 1970, David Lewis was made a saint by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. On 18 November 2019, a shrine in the church was dedicated to St David Lewis by the

Archbishop of Cardiff The Archbishop of Cardiff is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff.

George Stack George Stack KC*HS CStJ (born 9 May 1946) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was installed as the seventh Archbishop of Cardiff on 20 June 2011 and retired on 20 June 2022. Biography George Stack was born in Cork, Ireland, on 9 M ...

.James Campbell
New Shrine Dedicated to Saint David Lewis

Archdiocese of Cardiff The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cardiff ( la, Archidioecesis Cardiffensis; cy, Archesgobaeth Caerdydd) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church which covers the south-east portion of Wales and the county of Herefordshire in ...

, 19 November 2019, retrieved 20 June 2022

Gallery

Grade II listed St David Lewis Hall, Porthycarne Street, Usk - geograph.org.uk - 6001985.jpg, Parish hall Grave of St David Lewis.jpg, Grave of St David Lewis

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint David Lewis and Saint Francis Xavier Church Usk Grade II listed churches in Monmouthshire