St Mary's, often called St Mary Woodbridge Road, is a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church in Ipswich which has the largest congregation in the town and the second largest congregation in Suffolk. Its parish hall is the site of the first post reformation Catholic church in Ipswich, St Antony.Old church of St Mary, Ipswich
/ref> It is part of 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 ...

History

St Mary's was founded by a French priest, Abbé Louis Pierre Simon, when he escaped from the threat of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

and settled in Ipswich to teach. He was offered lodgings by a Catholic woman, Miss Margaret Wood, who later became his friend. Due to the prevalence of the revolution, Catholics found it hard to profess their faith in public at the time. Père Simon was able to gather the local Catholics into one community through his faithful

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

work. When the French wars were over, Père Simon decided to devote his life to working for the community in Ipswich. He bought a house in Albion Hill (now known as Woodbridge Road), which is presently used as a convent for nuns. Despite objections from the townspeople, Père Simon was able to add a small chapel dedicated to St Anthony. The chapel was consecrated on August 1, 1827, by the Vicar Apostolic Dr Thomas Walsh, and was attended by a number of individuals. It was soon found to be small, so the structure was enlarged to the northern and southern area, opening directly to Woodbridge Road. The new nave is 76 feet long. Dr. Walsh blessed the extended chapel on October 10, 1838, which was dedicated to

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

. Père Simon and Margaret Wood are both remembered by their plaques in the parish hall, which was the church they founded.

References

Roman Catholic churches completed in 1960 Roman Catholic churches in Ipswich 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom {{UK-RC-church-stub