St Edmund's 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, ...

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. It was founded by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in 1763 and the current church was built on that site in 1837. It is situated on Westgate street in the centre of the town. It is administered by the

Diocese of East Anglia The Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church covering the counties of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Peterborough in eastern England. The diocese makes up part of the Catholic As ...

, in its Bury St Edmunds deanery. It is a Grade II* listed building.

History

Foundation

In 1762, Fr Gage, a Jesuit, came to Bury St Edmunds to start a mission to serve the local Catholics of the area. Work on a small chapel dedicated to

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

started that year. It was completed a year later in 1763. The present church is on the site of the same chapel, so it is the oldest site of post-reformation Catholic worship in the

Construction

By 1837, the size of the chapel was no longer sufficient for the expanding congregation. This led the Jesuits to ask the same architect who built St Francis Xavier Church in Hereford, Charles Day, to design a church for Bury St Edmunds. It was dedicated to St Edmund the Martyr, from whom Bury St Edmunds takes its name. The two churches, St Francis Xavier in Hereford and St Edmund's were both done in the same Grecian style and built in the same years.

Interior

Many of the features around the main entrance, came from nearby

Rushbrooke Hall Rushbrooke Hall was a British stately home in Rushbrooke, Suffolk.GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Rushbrooke, in St Edmundsbury and Suffolk , Map and description, ''A Vision of Britain through Time''. http://www.vision ...

in 1959. Originally, the marble surround came from a fireplace there. In the westside of the side of a church is a Blessed sacrament chapel. This was consecrated in 1791, but fell into disuse until 1971 when it was re-dedicated. Also, in the north side of the church ware three blocked arches. These contain the gravestones of Jesuit priests who served the parish in the early 19th-century.

Parish

The church has three Sunday Masses, two on Sunday morning at 08:30 and 10:30 and a Sunday evening Mass at 18:00. There are also weekday Masses interspersed throughout the week. The parish has a close relationship with the nearby St Edmund's Catholic Primary School. The school was opened in 1882. In addition, the pupils join in with the Mass on Holy Days in the parish.About us
at StEdmunds.Suffolk.DBPrimary.com retrieved 16 December 2013

References

External links

St Edmund's Parish site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bury Saint Edmunds, Saint Edmund Roman Catholic churches in Suffolk Saint Edmund Roman Catholic churches completed in 1837 1837 establishments in England Grade II* listed churches in Suffolk Grade II* listed Roman Catholic churches in England Greek Revival church buildings in the United Kingdom 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Neoclassical church buildings in England English churches dedicated to St Edmund