St George'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, ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. It was founded in 1829 and was administered by the

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

until 1990 when it was handed over to the

Archdiocese of Birmingham The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham is one of the principal Latin-rite Catholic administrative divisions of England and Wales in the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The archdiocese covers an area of , encompassing Staffordshir ...

. It is in the

Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

, is a Grade II* listed building and was where

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

was organist from 1885.

History

There was another, earlier, church built on the same site in 1729, but little is known about it. From 1623, for their own administrative purposes the Jesuits divided the country into 'residences' and St George's church was named after the 'residence' that covered Warwickshire and Worcestershire, St George's. The church was opened on 16 July 1829 by, the

Vicar Apostolic of the Midland District The Apostolic Vicariate of the Midland District (later of the Central District) was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. It was led by an apostolic vicar (or vicar apostolic) who was a titular bishop. Th ...

, Bishop Thomas Walsh and was designed by Henry Rowe. Later that century, in 1880 the church was extended and the facade was heightened seven years later, to the designs of S. J. Nicoll, who also designed the interior of the Jesuit staffed Church of Saint Francis Xavier in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. Behind the altar is a large-scale copy of

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

's Transfiguration. The original is significant to the city of Worcester because it was commissioned by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici in 1517. Cardinal Medici went on become the titular

Bishop of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

from 1520 to 1522 and was elected as

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

in 1523. The copy was presented to the church in 1837 by The 16th Earl of Shrewsbury.

Organ

The organ was installed in 1885, the same year that the English composer

became the church organist. He succeeded his father at the age of 27, being assistant organist from the age of 15. He was organist at the church for four further years. The organ was rebuilt in 1970 by

Nicholson & Co (Worcester) Ltd Nicholson & Co. Ltd manufactures pipe organs. It was founded in 1841 by John Nicholson. Its work encompasses the creation of new instruments as well as historical restorations, rebuilds and renovations. In 2013, the firm completed the first whol ...

, and the stops that were from the old organ were marked 'E' to indicate what Elgar used when he played it.Our history
from StGeorgesRC-Worcester.org.uk retrieved 11 August 2013

Parish

St George's Church sign, Worcester by P L Chadwick Geograph 2718598

The church has 2 Sunday Masses: Sunday at 10:00am and 11:30am, and a Polish Mass at 2:00pm Furthermore, there are usually weekday Masses at 10:00am, Monday to Saturday. Confession can be heard on Saturday from 10:45am to 11.45am The parish also has a relationship with the nearby ''St George's Catholic Primary School'' which states on its website that 'We are proud of our links to St George's Catholic Church, Worcester, where Elgar was an organist for many years.'About Us
from St George's Catholic Primary School retrieved 13 August 2013

References

External links

Catholic Worcester site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worcester, Saint George Church Saint George Church Grade II* listed churches in Worcestershire Saint George Church Roman Catholic churches completed in 1829 Roman Catholic churches in Worcestershire Grade II* listed Roman Catholic churches in England 1829 establishments in England 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Neoclassical church buildings in England

History

Organ

Parish

See also

References

External links