St Francis of Assisi 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, ...

Stratford, London Stratford is a town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. Until 1965 it was within the historic county of Essex. Part of the Lower Lea Valley, Stratford is situated 6 miles (10 km) east-northeast of Char ...

. It was founded from a

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 ...

that started in 1770. The church itself was built in 1868. The church is located on the corner of Grove Crescent Road and The Grove, and is accessible from both streets. The

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...

arrived in 1873, built a friary next door to the church in 1876 and continue to serve the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

History

Foundation

In 1770, a

was started in

to serve the local Catholic community. The first surviving baptism records start in 1773. In 1788,

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

was being said by a Fr Thomas Wright in a rented house in Plaistow. In 1791, he registered a rented house in West Ham Lane as a

place of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...

. In 1799, he was succeeded by John Jones, John Singleton in 1801 and then Joseph Porter in 1802, who set about building the local Catholic school but ran away in 1810 when the school was in debt. In 1810, a French priest, J. F. Chevrollais took over the mission. In 1813, a school and St Patrick and St Vincent de Paul Church were built on the High Street.

Construction

With the Catholic community growing, a new larger church and school were needed. In 1861, the present site of the church was bought from a Charles Walker by a Fr James McQuoin. Construction work started and on 12 May 1868, St Vincent de Paul Church was opened by the Archbishop of Westminster Henry Manning. The cost was £6,000 and the construction was done by Messrs Bird of Stratford. The church was built to have a school on the ground floor and a church on the upper floor.

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 ...

Stratford – St Francis of Assisi
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 25 May 2021

Franciscans

In 1873, the

Franciscan Friars , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

came to Stratford and changed the name of the church from St Vincent de Paul Church to St Francis of Assisi Church. They lived in two houses on The Grove, and extended the houses, making it a friary in 1876. In 1931, the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

was refurbished with the addition of a new

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

and reredos. The centre of the reredos is a painting of

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

Bartolomeo Carducci Bartolomeo Carducci (156014 November 1608) was an Italian painter, better known as Carducho, the Spanish corruption of his Italian patronymic. Biography He was born in Florence, where he studied architecture and sculpture under Bartolomeo ...

. The painting was looted by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

from a Franciscan church in Spain. It was later bought at auction in Paris by a Colonel Bigge, who then gave to the Stewart family in

Appin Appin ( gd, An Apainn) is a coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded to the west by Loch Linnhe, to the south by Loch Creran, to the east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and to the north by Loch Leven. It lies north ...

, Argyllshire. In 1926, they permanently loaned it to Franciscans.

Parish

The Franciscans continue to serve the parish.Friar.org
retrieved 25 May 2021 There are four Sunday Masses in the church at 6:00pm on Saturday, and 9:00am, 10:30am and 12 midday on Sunday.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Francis of Assisi Church, Stratford Stratford, London Roman Catholic churches in the London Borough of Newham 1868 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1868 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Neoclassical architecture in London Franciscan churches in the United Kingdom Neoclassical church buildings in England