St Benet's Church is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ...

in Monkwearmouth in Sunderland. It was built in 1889 and designed by Archibald Matthias Dunn and Edward Joseph Hansom. It is located on the corner of Thomas Street North and George Street North, half a kilometre east of the Stadium of Light. From 1900 to 2011, the

Redemptorists The Redemptorists, officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (), abbreviated CSsR, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brothers). It was founded by Alphonsus Liguori at Scala ...

served the

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 ...

. The church is now once again served by priests from the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. When it was built, it was the first Catholic church in Sunderland to be built north of the River Wear in the nineteenth century.''Taking Stock''
Sunderland – St Benet
from

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

, retrieved 8 April 2021

History

Foundation

In 1861, a Fr George Dunn bought the land behind Roker Avenue for a Catholic school and chapel. The chapel was the place of worship for the local Catholic community north of the River Wear. In 1873, a Fr Jules de Floer came to area, who started the efforts to build the current church. The architects, Dunn, Hansom & Dunn, consisting of Archibald Matthias Dunn, his son Archibald Manuel Dunn, and Edward Joseph Hansom, were chosen to design the church.

Construction

On 28 July 1888, the foundation stone was laid, it was blessed by Bishop Thomas Wilkinson. The builders were from T. Lumsden of Jarrow. The stone carving inside the church was done by Richard Lockwood Boulton. Under a year later, on 14 July 1889, the church was opened, again by Bishop Wilkinson. In 1900, Bishop Wilkinson invited the

to staff the parish. The presbytery built between the school and the church was demolished and a monastery was built in its place to house the Redemptorists. It was finished in 1902, built by George Hodgson of Sunderland and cost £4580. In 1909, a new

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

and side chapels were added to the church, and the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

was moved to the new sanctuary. A new

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

was added linking the church and the monastery.

Developments

In 1916, during World War One, the church was damaged by bombardment from

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

s, and all the windows were destroyed. In 1925, a parish hall was added. On 24 March 1983, a new altar was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

by Bishop Owen Swindlehurst. In 1993, a new parish hall, smaller than before, was built. In 2003, the interior of the church was redecorated. In 2011, the Redemptorists left the parish and priests from the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle returned to the serve the

congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...

St Hilda's Church

In 1902, while at St Benet's Church, the Redemptorists built a school and chapel in nearby Southwick, Sunderland. In 1908, the school was handed to the diocese and in 1908 building work began on St Hilda's Church. On 8 June 1908, the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Richard Collins. The priest Fr Smith placed a fragment of a wall-shaft from

Whitby Abbey Whitby Abbey was a 7th-century Christian monastery that later became a Benedictine abbey. The abbey church was situated overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England, a centre of the medieval Northumbrian ...

, on the foundation stone of the church. In 1909, the church was opened. In 1912, the presbytery was built. On 9 May 1985, the Fr Smith Parish Room was opened by Bishop Swindlehurst. On 15 June 2001, the church was consecrated by Bishop Ambrose Griffiths.

Parish

After the Redemptorists left St Benet's Church, one priest serves three churches in Monkwearmouth: St Benet's Church, Sacred Heart and St John Bosco Church and St Hilda's Church. So the Sunday Mass times cannot be the same amongst the three churches. St Benet's Church Sunday Mass is at 11:00am on Sunday, St Hilda's Church's Mass is at 6:00pm on Saturday and Sacred Heart and St John Bosco Church has its Masses at 4:30pm on Saturday and 9:30am on Sunday.St Hilda, Sacred Heart, St Benet
from WearCatholic.org, retrieved 8 April 2021

References

External links

* *
Diocesan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Benet's Church, Sunderland Roman Catholic churches in Tyne and Wear Gothic Revival architecture in Tyne and Wear Churches in the City of Sunderland Redemptorist churches in the United Kingdom 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom 1861 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1889 Gothic Revival church buildings in England