St Anselm's Church in

Southall Southall () is a large suburban town in West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...

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 ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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 ...

served 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 ...

in the

London Borough of Ealing The London Borough of Ealing () is a London boroughs, London borough in London, England. It comprises the districts of Acton, London, Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale and Southall. With a population of 367,100 inhabitants, i ...

within the administration of the

Archdiocese of Westminster The Archdiocese of Westminster (Latin: ''Dioecesis Vestmonasteriensis'') is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in England. The diocese consists of most of London north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea, the borough of Speltho ...

. It is situated on The Green, a main

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

into Southall. Built from 1967 to 1968, it has stained glass windows designed by

Patrick Reyntiens Nicholas Patrick Reyntiens OBE (; 11 December 1925 – 25 October 2021) was a British stained-glass artist, described as "the leading practitioner of stained glass in this country." Personal life Reyntiens was born in December 1925 at 68 Cad ...

and

Jerzy Faczynski Jerzy is the Polish version of the masculine given name George. The most common nickname for Jerzy is Jurek (), which may also be used as an official first name. Occasionally the nickname Jerzyk may be used, which means "swift" in Polish. People ...

. The parish was home to the ''De Nobili Dialogue Centre''; a Jesuit building for

inter-religious dialogue Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the indi ...

. It is also the only Catholic church in Southall and the parish has more than fifty nationalities represented in the congregation.

History

Foundation

During the time of

recusancy Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

, from the time of the

English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...

until the

Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 ( 10 Geo. 4. c. 7), also known as the Catholic Emancipation Act 1829, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that removed the sacramental tests that barred Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom f ...

, Catholics were recorded to be living in Southall. In 1768, the burial register of St Mary's Church in

Norwood Green Norwood Green is a place in the London Borough of Ealing in London, England, that forms the southern part of Southall. It is a suburban development centred west of Charing Cross and ENE of Heathrow Airport. Its origin coincides with the 12 ...

, recorded that "Mary widow of Cornelius Vanlewan, papist aged 54 years" died in the parish. In 1807, the local Anglican priest wrote that a Catholic priest, Dr Collins, was living in the area and had started a school in the manor. From 1906, when the parish began, to the present church, St Anselm's has been in three different church buildings. The first St Anselm's church in

began in 1906. It was situated in a

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...

Manor House.

School and church building

In 1919, the parish priest was Fr William M. Buckle. He sought the funding and building of a church and school to accommodate the growing congregation. That year, he placed a full-page advert in ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic Church, Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by ...

'' calling for donations to build a church and school with the title "Save us at Southall or we Perish". A year later in 1920, a new church and school building was opened.''Norwood''
British History Online
Retrieved 20 February 2013 The church was dedicated to

Saint Anselm Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...

, as he had a manor in neighbouring

Hayes Hayes may refer to: * Hayes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States * Hayes (given name) Businesses * Hayes Brake, an American designer and manufacturer of disc brakes * Hay ...

from 1095 and travelled through Southall to reach it. The building in 1920 was constructed in two halves. One half was the church, the other was a hall that housed a small mixed junior school. As the size of the school increased, in 1930, a new church was opened. This was built beside the school and was a long, low, brick building with a separate small wooden bell tower.

Construction

In 1932, Fr Leo A. Ward succeeded Fr Buckle as parish priest. With the church again needing to be enlarged, Fr Ward set about the building of the current church. On 17 June 1967, the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Patrick Casey. On 23 March 1968 the church was blessed. On 20 April 1968 it was opened by Cardinal John Heenan. The church was designed by John Newton of the firm Burles, Newton & Partners, and has stained glass windows designed by

, who also did the stained glass in St Ambrose's Church, Speke, designed the windows in the side chapels. The old church became the school hall. From 2001, priests from the

have been serving the parish. Nearby, they started the ''De Nobili Dialogue Centre'', a centre for inter-religious dialogue. Named after

Roberto de Nobili Roberto de Nobili (1577 – 16 January 1656) was an Italian priest, a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), who worked as a missionary in Southern India. He used novel methods to preach Christianity, adopting many local customs of India whi ...

, it provided a space for different faiths to meet in prayer and dialogue. It was also associated with the ''Centre for Christianity and Interreligious Dialogue'' at

Heythrop College, University of London Heythrop College, University of London, was a constituent college of the University of London between 1971 and 2018, last located in Kensington Square, London. It comprised the university's specialist faculties of philosophy and theology with so ...

Parish

Groups

The church is involved with the West London branch of Citizens UK. Also, resident in the parish is a community of the

Missionaries of Charity The Missionaries of Charity () is a Catholic centralised religious institute of consecrated life of Pontifical Right for women established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, now known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. , it consisted o ...

who work with the poor in the area. Hope for Southall Street Homeless is based in and around the church and the parish centre.

School

The parish enjoys a close relationship with the nearby ''St Anselm's Catholic Primary School''. Different school year groups celebrate Mass each term and they also have regular Masses which are celebrated by the whole school throughout the year.''Community''
St Anselm's Catholic Primary School
Retrieved 20 February 2013

Interior

St Anselm's Church interior, Southall.jpg, Interior St Anselm's Church sanctuary, Southall.jpg, Sanctuary St Anselm's Church lady chapel, Southall.jpg, Lady chapel St Anselm's Church Blessed Sacrament Chapel, Southall.jpg, Blessed sacrament chapel St Anselm's Church Foundation stone, Southall.jpg, Foundation stone St Anselm's Church lady chapel plaque.jpg, Plaque in lady chapel St Anselm's Church baptistry windows by Patrick Reyntiens, 1971.jpg, Windows in baptistry

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Southall, Saint Anselm 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster Jesuit churches in the United Kingdom Roman Catholic churches completed in 1968 Roman Catholic churches in the London Borough of Ealing

Modernist architecture in London