St Mary and St John 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 let ...

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, ...

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

, West Midlands, England. It was opened in 1855 and designed by

Charles Hansom Charles Francis Hansom (27 July 1817 – 30 November 1888) was a prominent Roman Catholic Victorian architect who primarily designed in the Gothic Revival style. Career He was born of a Roman Catholic family in York. He was the brother of Jose ...

. It is situated on the corner of Snow Hill and Ring Road St Georges. It is Grade II* listed building and has been served by the

Pauline Fathers The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit ( lat, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Pauli Primi Eremitæ; abbreviated OSPPE), commonly called the Pauline Fathers, is a monastic order of the Roman Catholic Church founded in Hungary during the 13th century. Thi ...

since 2002.

History

Construction

It was built from 1851 in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. It was opened in 1855 and the architect was

. He also designed St Osburg's Church, Coventry in 1845 and

Erdington Abbey Erdington Abbey Church () on Sutton Road, Erdington, Birmingham, England, is the more usual name of the grade II listed church of Saints Thomas and Edmund of Canterbury. It is the church of a Roman Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Birmingh ...

in 1848. After St Mary and St John Church he went on to be behind the construction of St Gregory's Church, Cheltenham in 1854,

Plymouth Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Boniface in Plymouth, England, is the seat of the Bishop of Plymouth and mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth, which covers the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. The Diocese ...

in 1856 and

Our Lady of the Angels and St Peter in Chains Church, Stoke-on-Trent Our Lady of the Angels and St Peter in Chains Church or Our Lady and St Peter's Chains Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. It was built in 1857 and designed by Charles Hansom. It is situated on Hartshill Ro ...

in 1857.

Developments

From 1879 to 1880, the church was enlarged. Charles Hansom was also responsible for the extension. Twenty-five years later, in 1905, the church was consecrated. The glass in the east end of the church was made by Hardman & Co. In 2002, the administration of the church was handed over to the

, who have served the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

ever since.

Parish

The Pauline Fathers of the parish also staff two other surrounding parishes. They serve St Teresa of the Infant Jesus Church in

Wednesfield Wednesfield is a town and historic village in the City of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, It is east-northeast of Wolverhampton city centre and about from Birmingham and is part of the West Midlands conurbation. It was historically wit ...

and St Patrick's Church in the east of Wolverhampton. St Teresa's Church was originally built in 1933. With the increasing

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

, a new larger church building had to be constructed. On 26 March 1967, the foundation stone was laid and on 7 December 1969, the new church was opened on the corner of Birmingham New Road and Dimmock Street. The old church building became a church hall. St Patrick's Parish was founded in 1865. The foundation stone of the original church was laid in 1866 and the architect was

E. W. Pugin Edward Welby Pugin (11 March 1834 – 5 June 1875) was an English architect, the eldest son of architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton and part of the Pugin & Pugin family of church architects. His father was an architect an ...

. In the 1960s, with the building of the ring road, the church was demolished and the current site on the corner of Wolverhampton Road and Coronation Road, next to

New Cross Hospital New Cross Hospital is a hospital in the Heath Town district of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is located to the east of the city centre in Wednesfield and is managed by the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. History The hospital has ...

was provided by the local council for construction of a new church building. The church was opened in 1972.Our Church
from StPatrickWV.co.uk, retrieved 2 February 2016 St Mary and St Church has three Sunday Masses, they are at 6:30pm on Saturday and 10:00am and 11:30am on Sunday. St Teresa's Church and St Patrick's both have two Sunday Masses each. St Teresa's Church has Sunday Mass at 5:00pm on Saturday and 9:00am on Sunday. St Patrick's Church has its Sunday Masses at 9:30am and 6:30pm.

Exterior

File:St Mary and St John East End - geograph.org.uk - 978400.jpg, East side of church File:The Catholic Church of St Mary and St John, Wolverhampton - geograph.org.uk - 1231022.jpg, Entrance

References

External links

St Mary and St John Parish site

St Teresa of the Infant Jesus Parish site

St Patrick's Parish site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolverhampton, Saints Mary and John Saints Mary and John Roman Catholic churches in the West Midlands (county) Grade II* listed churches in the West Midlands (county) 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Grade II* listed Roman Catholic churches in England Gothic Revival church buildings in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1880 1851 establishments in England