St Jude's Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in the Worsley Mesnes area of Wigan, Greater Manchester. It was completed in 1965 and is a Grade II listed building in the

Brutalist style Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

which stands on the junction of St Paul's Avenue and Poolstock Lane. It is in the Wigan pastoral area of the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

History

Foundation

Following the demolition of many working class homes in central Wigan in the early-to-mid 20th century there was a migration to new council estates on the outskirts of the town including new developments in the Poolstock and Worsley Mesnes localities. In order to cater to the Catholic inhabitants of the new estates Father Richard Tobin of St Joseph's parish in Wigan, established a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

(described as a "wooden hut") on St Paul's Avenue, Worsley Mesnes in 1959. In 1962 Tobin wrote to the Archbishop of Liverpool

George Andrew Beck George Andrew Beck (28 May 1904 – 13 September 1978) was an English prelate who served in the Roman Catholic Church as Archbishop of Liverpool from 29 January 1964 to 7 February 1976. Beck was born in Streatham in south London. He was ...

with his proposals for a new, permanent church, suggesting that the church should be dedicated either to

St Jude Jude ( grc-gre, Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Thaddeus ( grc-gre, Θαδδαῖος; cop, ⲑⲁⲇⲇⲉⲟⲥ; ...

Our Lady of the Assumption The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

. Beck replied on 15 March:

My dear Father Tobin, Many thanks for your letter. I like your suggestion of St. Jude as a patron of the new church. We already have a parish in honour of The Assumption but none, so far as I know, to St. Jude. I assume that you do not intend to suggest by this title that Wigan is a hopeless case!!

The Liverpool architects L A G Prichard & Sons were engaged and work began in the summer of 1963.

Subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...

caused by coal mining in the area necessitated reinforced foundations and the final cost was over £100,000. The foundation stone was laid by Archbishop Beck in December 1964 and the church was opened for worship in July 1965.

Description

The church was built of reinforced concrete and brick. It is fan-shaped, with the plan of an

isosceles triangle In geometry, an isosceles triangle () is a triangle that has two sides of equal length. Sometimes it is specified as having ''exactly'' two sides of equal length, and sometimes as having ''at least'' two sides of equal length, the latter versio ...

with the corners squared off. On front of the entrance porch is a circular

baptistry In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

, surmounted by four tapering concrete fins holding a pole with a cross. The interior features a mosaic of the crucifixion measuring 17 feet by 9 feet designed by Hans Unger and made by Eberhard Schulze. The

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

are represented by a series of mosaics with gold backgrounds designed and made by John Madden and Sons of Panton Street, Belfast, N. Ireland , under contract from

Earley and Company Earley and Company (1861–1975) were ecclesiastical furnishings and stained glass manufacturers and retailers, based in Camden Street, Dublin, Camden Street, Dublin, Ireland. In the 19th century they also had an outlet at 51 Lower Clanbrassil S ...

of Dublin. The design, assembly and finishing of the pieces was completed by Brendan Madden and his brothers. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the church is the dalle de verre stained glass on the walls of the nave, designed by Robin Riley, made by Verriers de St Jobain in France and fitted by glaziers J O’Neill and Sons. The abstract, swirling patterns are mainly in blue, red, yellow and green.

Parish

St Jude's absorbed the parish of St Joseph's Wigan, when the latter closed in 1995. The parish of St Jude's was united with the neighbouring parish of St Aidan's,

Winstanley Winstanley may refer to: People: *Alan Winstanley, British record producer *Bill Winstanley, English footballer who played for Stoke City *Dean Winstanley, English darts player *Eric Winstanley, English footballer *Gerrard Winstanley, 17th-century ...

in 2017. The parish has two Sunday masses: 9:00 am at St Aidan's and 10:30 am at St Jude's. Associated institutions include St Jude's Catholic Primary School, St Aidan's Catholic Primary School and

Wigan St Judes Wigan St Judes are an amateur rugby league football club from Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the National Conference League. The club also operates a number of academy teams. History Wigan St Judes were formed in 1980 ...

Rugby League club.

Parish priests

* Fr Richard Tobin 1964–1976 * Fr Michael Cronin 1977–1984 * Fr Thomas Delaney 1984–1989 * Canon Patrick McNally 1989–2017 * Fr John Causey 2017–

External links

St Jude & St Aidan's Parish site

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigan, Saint Jude Roman Catholic churches in Greater Manchester Saint Jude Grade II listed churches in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan Roman Catholic churches completed in 1965 1965 establishments in England 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool