St Patrick'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 ...

church in the Beaumont Leys area of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. The current church building dates from 1959, built to accommodate Leicester's growing Catholic population, although the parish was first created in 1854. The current church building is in the Romanesque style with three distinctive domes in the nave of the church. A stained glass window depicting St Patrick, the parish patron, stands at the back of the church. The current parish priest is Father Raphael Imoni, who arrived at St Patrick's in September 2018. The church serves St Patrick's Catholic Voluntary Academy and

English Martyrs Catholic School English Martyrs Catholic School is a coeducational Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form located in Leicester, England. The school's new buildings had their official opening in May 2015. History The school began as a secondary school ...

History of the Parish

The parish started life as a school chapel in Royal East Street, Leicester in 1854. The chapel was dedicated to St Patrick by Fr Nickolds OP, from

Holy Cross Priory, Leicester Holy Cross Priory is a Roman Catholic Dominican priory in Leicester, England. History The priory was established in 1882. By 1929, the church had proved too small and Friar Vincent McNabb O.P. began to raise money for a new church. The choir ...

. The mission of the chapel was handed over to the Diocese of Nottingham in 1894. Fr. Hawkins served as the first parish priest. The original chapel closed in 1940 due to a falling Catholic population in Leicester. In 1949, on the appointment of Fr. Hill as Parish Priest of Our Lady and St.Patrick's, a Mass Centre had been set up in the grandstand of the

Leicester Stadium Leicester Stadium was a sports stadium on Parker Drive in Leicester. The stadium was initially used for greyhound racing with motorcycle speedway starting there five years later. It was also a venue for BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars. Greyhound ...

and land was acquired in Beaumont Leys Lane for a church, presbytery and parish hall. The new church was blessed and officially opened by Bishop Edward Ellis on St.Patrick's Day 1959. Fr. Sullivan was appointed Parish Priest in October 1961. Fr. Sullivan was responsible for the completion of the interior of the Church by the addition of the wooden Stations of the Cross, the statues of the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devo ...

and St.Joseph the Worker, together with the Cross of Christ Triumphant and the two stained glass windows in the Sanctuary. These features are still present. After Fr Sullivan the Church was served by the Blessed Sacrament Fathers until Fr Neary was appointed Parish Priest. Fr Neary was succeeded by Fr Tutto who continued with the plans for further improvements. During 1982 and 1983, thanks to the generosity of benefactors, the St.Patrick's Chapel was completed by the addition of St.Patrick's statue of carved wood and parish banner. Fr Tutto was succeeded by Fr Stephen Lennon in 1986 and in 1996 Fr Michael Lynch was appointed Parish Priest. Under Fr Lynch, the parish hall was erected, which still serves as a venue for events today. Father Jimmy Browne served as Parish priest from 2000 until 2009 and during this time the church was redecorated and the sanctuary refurbished. He celebrated the golden anniversary of the parish in 2009 with a Mass celebrated with Bishop Malcolm McMahon, then Bishop of Nottingham. To celebrate the anniversary, a new stained glass window was commissioned in the Baptistry. The window depicts a course of faith through a river from natural beginnings to the depiction of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

. Father Martin Hardy arrived in the Parish in April 2009. He was a popular figure among parishioners and in the wider Leicester community, hosting

Liz Kendall Elizabeth Louise Kendall (born 11 June 1971) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West since 2010. Kendall was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where she read history. From 2011 to 2 ...

MP and other civic dignitaries at the annual St Patrick's celebrations. Father Raphael Imoni arrived in the parish as the parish priest as of September 2018. The mass attendance is above average for Leicester, with a weekly attendance of over 500.

Notable features

The church contains a number of notable features: * Carved Stations of the Cross * Wooden carving depicting St Patrick * Wooden carving depicting St Joseph * Prayer Room dedicated to

St Brigid Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland ( ga, Naomh Bríd; la, Brigida; 525) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiogra ...

* Chapel dedicated to St Patrick *

Stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

window depicting St Patrick * Lady Altar with a

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

icon of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

* 50th Anniversary Stained Glass Window * Original baptismal font * Carved

triumphal cross A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...

depicting

Christ the King Christ the King is a title of Jesus in Christianity referring to the idea of the Kingdom of God where the Christ is described as seated at the right hand of God. Many Christian denominations consider the kingly office of Christ to be one of ...

* A depiction of the

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

above the

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

References

External links

St Patrick's Catholic Church Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leicester, Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

Roman Catholic churches in Leicestershire Roman Catholic churches completed in 1959 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom