Holy Cross and St Helen Church is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

St Helens, Merseyside St Helens () is a town in Merseyside, England, with a population of 117,308. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens which had a population of 183,200 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Census. The town i ...

. The church was built in 1860 by the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. It was designed by

Joseph John Scoles Joseph John Scoles (1798–1863) was an English Gothic Revival architect, who designed many Roman Catholic churches. Early life and education Scoles was born in London on 27 June 1798, the son of Roman Catholic parents Matthew Scoles, a joiner, ...

and is a Grade II listed building.British listed buildings
retrieved 16 August 2013

History

The church was founded by the

in 1860. Fr Thomas Seed, the head of the Jesuits in Britain, who also founded Sacred Heart Church in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

laid the foundation stone of the church on 3 May 1860, what was then Feast of the Finding of the True Cross. The church was designed by

who also designed

St Ignatius Church, Preston The Syro-Malabar Cathedral of St Alphonsa is a Syro-Malabar Church, Catholic Church (building), cathedral of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Syro-Malabar rite in Preston, Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire. It is the cathedral of the Syro-Malabar ...

in Lancashire,

Immaculate Conception Church, Farm Street The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, also known as Farm Street Church, is a Catholic parish church run by the Society of Jesus in Mayfair, Central London, England. Its main entrance is in Farm Street, though it can also be acc ...

in London and the

Church of Saint Francis Xavier, Liverpool St Francis Xavier's Church is a Roman Catholic church in Salisbury Street, Everton, Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active ...

. Construction of the church lasted for almost two years and the church was opened on 1 May 1862. In the church there is a memorial stone dated 1933, showing when the Jesuits handed over the church to the

Archdiocese of Liverpool The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Liverpool () is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the Isle of Man and part of North West England. The episcopal see is Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral. The archdiocese is the centre ...

, who have continued to administer it ever since.

Parish

Sunday Mass is at 10am. Weekday Masses are as follows: 12.15pm on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and 11am on Tuesday. Confessions are from 11am to 11.45am before the 12.15pm Mass. There are no confessions on Tuesdays. In addition Exposition takes place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (half an hour before and after Mass). Entrance to the church is via Corporation Street (southern side) or Parade Street (northern side), where there is also an additional gate for level access. The original front entrance is no longer used. In July 2020, the church of SS Peter & Paul, Haresfinch was closed, and this parish was merged into the parish of Holy Cross and St Helen under its former Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Kevan O'Brien.

Gallery

File:Holy Cross Church, St Helens by Dave Bevis Geograph 3922524.jpg, North-Eastern aspect of Church of Holy Cross & St. Helen, St. Helens, Merseyside File:Southern aspect of RC Church of Holy Cross & St. Helen, St. Helens, Merseyside.jpg, Southern aspect of Church of Holy Cross & St. Helen, St. Helens, Merseyside

References

External links

Archdiocese of Liverpool website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Cross Church, Saint Helens Grade II listed churches in Merseyside Roman Catholic churches in Merseyside Holy Cross Church Roman Catholic churches completed in 1862 Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in England 1862 establishments in England Gothic Revival architecture in Merseyside Gothic Revival church buildings in England 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom

History

Parish

Gallery

See also

References

External links