St Joseph 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, ...

Richmond, North Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...

. It is situated between Newbiggin and Victoria Road to the south of Richmondshire Cricket Club. The church was built in 1868 and was designed by

George Goldie Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie (20 May 1846 – 20 August 1925) was a Manx administrator who played a major role in the founding of Nigeria. In many ways, his role was similar to that of Cecil Rhodes elsewhere in Africa but he did ...

.History
from StJosephSFX.co.uk retrieved 20 October 2013 It was founded by the

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

and it is a Grade II listed building.British listed buildings
retrieved 16 December 2013

History

Foundation

In 1794, Fr Thomas Austin Lawson OSB from

Downside Abbey Downside Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in England and the senior community of the English Benedictine Congregation. Until 2019, the community had close links with Downside School, for the education of children aged eleven to eighteen. Both t ...

came to Richmond to start a mission to the local Catholics of the area. After twenty years of serving the Catholic community, Lawson was recalled to the monastery in 1814 and died there that year. The Jesuits took over the mission and sent Fr Robert Johnson SJ. He served the congregation for fifty years and died in 1865. In 1888, a memorial window to him was installed in the church.

Construction

In 1866, he was succeeded by Fr William Strickland SJ who saw that the small chapel Lawson and Johnson had used was too small for the growing congregation. He asked the architect

to design a church that would accommodate the community. In 1868, the church was completed and opened. However, the construction of the church and the nearby school, which became the parish hall, created a sizeable debt for the parish.

Administration

In 1961, a year before the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, the Jesuits handed over the administration of the parish to the

Diocese of Middlesbrough The Roman Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese based in Middlesbrough, England and is part of the province of Liverpool. It was founded on 20 December 1878, with the splitting of the Diocese of Beverley which ...

. The last Jesuit priest there was Fr Edmund Swift SJ. The diocese has continued to serve the parish ever since.

Parish

Mass times

St Joseph and St Francis Xavier Church has two Masses every Sunday, one at 18:30 on Saturday evening and the other at 09:30 on Sunday morning. There are also weekday Masses at 09:30 from Monday through to Saturday. At St Mary's Wycliffe, within the parish, there is a Sunday Mass at 11:30, and weekday communion services at 09:00 from Monday to Friday, with one at 10:00 on Saturdays.

St Mary's Church

The parish priest also serves St Mary's Church in

Wycliffe, County Durham Wycliffe is a village on the south bank of the River Tees in the North East of England, situated a short distance to the east of Barnard Castle. Wycliffe is in the civil parish of Wycliffe with Thorpe. It is located within the historic boundar ...

, situated close to

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

and

Hutton Magna Hutton Magna is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. Situated south east of Barnard Castle. Lying within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the village along with the rest of the former Startforth Rura ...

. It was built in 1848-49 as a chapel for Wycliffe Hall. The church is now part of a retreat centre, St Mary's Centre.StMarysCentreWycliffe.com
retrieved 17 December 2013

References

External links

St Joseph and SFX Parish website

St Mary's Centre, Wycliffe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph and Saint Francis Xavier Church Grade II listed churches in North Yorkshire George Goldie church buildings Roman Catholic churches in North Yorkshire Roman Catholic churches completed in 1868 Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England 1868 establishments in England Gothic Revival church buildings in England Gothic Revival architecture in North Yorkshire Richmond, North Yorkshire 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom