The Sacred Shrine of Ss. Peter, Paul and St. Philomena is a Grade II listed Church in Atherton Street, New Brighton,

Wirral, England The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of 321,238, and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Be ...

. It has a green dome, from which it has gained the name "The Dome of Home" from local people. The origins of this nickname date back to the mid 20th century, when sailors would recognise they were close to

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...

when they could see the church.

Origins of the church

The church was founded by a priest called Father Tom Mullins. Born in Ireland, he studied for Priesthood in Lisbon, Portugal. When Father Tom got back to the Wirral, he was serving at a church (now demolished) in Hope Street. He went on to pursue his dream of constructing the church. When construction was finished New Brighton was becoming a very popular resort. The church opened in 1935.

Serving priests

# Fr Tom Mullins 1935-1945 # Mgr Canon Maurice Curran V.G 1945-1960 # Father John Quinn (1960–1983) # Father Joseph Prendiville 1983 # Father (later canon) Robert Fallon 1983-1990 # Father Anthony Myers 1990-1996 # Father Michael Wentworth 1996-2006 # Father John Feeney 2006–2008 (church closed) # Canon Oliver Meney 2011-2012 # Canon Amaury Montjean 2012 - In addition, a retired Canon, William Briscoe O.B.E was in residence from 1986 to 2001.

The present

In 2006, when Father Wentworth retired, Father Feeney was welcomed as the new Parish Priest. Father Feeney had a job of looking after three parishes, the others being English Martyrs and Our Lady of Lourdes. Together, all three churches united in becoming the North Wallasey Catholic Community. In 2008, the church was closed by a decision of the local diocese. The parishioners were relocated to another church, about a five-minute walk away, called All Saints, owned by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

In 2011 the church was re-opened for a weekly mass, and there was an expression of interest by a religious order, the

Institute of Christ the King The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP; la, Institutum Christi Regis Summi Sacerdotis []; french: Institut du Christ Roi Souverain Prêtre []) is a Roman Catholic society of apostolic life of pontifical right in communion with ...

, to re-open the church fully. On 15 October 2011 Canon Oliver Meney and another member of the Institute of Christ the King took up residence in the fully renovated presbytery. Daily Mass is now offered in the day chapel at 9 a.m. with other devotions and activities. The church is fully open with Sung High Mass celebrated every Sunday at 10.30 a.m.

References

Bibliography

* Hargreaves, Jennie ''My Beloved Church: A Story of the Parish of S.S Peter & Paul's R.C. Church, New Brighton'' (Liverpool, 2006)
Religious Wirral landmark ‘Dome of Home’ celebrate rich history
from the ''Wallasey News''

External links