St Francis of Assisi 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 ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

Stratford, London Stratford is a town and district of West Ham, East London, England, in the London Borough of Newham. Part of the Lower Lea Valley, it is northeast of Charing Cross, and includes Maryland and East Village. Historically an ancient parish in ...

. It was founded from a

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

that started in 1770. The church itself was built in 1868. The church is located on the corner of Grove Crescent Road and The Grove, and is accessible from both streets. The

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (commonly called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a Mendicant orders, mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis ...

arrived in 1873, built a

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

next door to the church in 1876 and continue to serve 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 ...

History

Foundation

In 1770, a

was started in

to serve the local Catholic community. The first surviving baptism records start in 1773. In 1788,

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was being said by a Fr Thomas Wright in a rented house in Plaistow. In 1791, he registered a rented house in West Ham Lane as a

place of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is s ...

. In 1799, he was succeeded by John Jones, John Singleton in 1801 and then Joseph Porter in 1802, who set about building the local Catholic school but ran away in 1810 when the school was in debt. In 1810, a French priest, J. F. Chevrollais took over the mission. In 1813, a school and St Patrick and St Vincent de Paul Church were built on the High Street.

Construction

With the Catholic community growing, a new larger church and school were needed. In 1861, the present site of the church was bought from a Charles Walker by a Fr James McQuoin. Construction work started and on 12 May 1868, St Vincent de Paul Church was opened by the

Archbishop of Westminster The archbishop of Westminster heads the Roman Catholic Diocese of Westminster, in England. The incumbent is the metropolitan of the Province of Westminster, chief metropolitan of England and Wales and, as a matter of custom, is elected presid ...

Henry Manning. The cost was £6,000 and the construction was done by Messrs Bird of Stratford. The church was built to have a school on the ground floor and a church on the upper floor.

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 ...

Stratford – St Francis of Assisi
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 25 May 2021

Franciscans

In 1873, the

Franciscan Friars The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest contem ...

came to Stratford and changed the name of the church from St Vincent de Paul Church to St Francis of Assisi Church. They lived in two houses on The Grove, and extended the houses, making it a

in 1876. In 1931, the

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 ...

was refurbished with the addition of a new

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 ...

and

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

. The centre of the reredos is a painting of

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

Bartolomeo Carducci Bartolomeo Carducci (156014 November 1608) was an Italian painter, better known as Carducho, the Spanish corruption of his Italian patronymic. Biography Carducci was born in Florence, where he studied architecture and sculpture under Barto ...

. The painting was looted by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

from a Franciscan church in Spain. It was later bought at auction in Paris by a Colonel Bigge, who then gave to the Stewart family in

Appin Appin () is a coastal district of the Scottish West Highlands bounded to the west by Loch Linnhe, to the south by Loch Creran, to the east by the districts of Benderloch and Lorne, and to the north by Loch Leven. It lies northeast to southw ...

, Argyllshire. In 1926, they permanently loaned it to Franciscans.

Parish

The Franciscans continue to serve the parish.Friar.org
retrieved 25 May 2021 There are four Sunday Masses in the church at 6:00pm on Saturday, and 9:00am, 10:30am and 12 midday on Sunday.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Francis of Assisi Church, Stratford Stratford, London Roman Catholic churches in the London Borough of Newham 1868 establishments in England Roman Catholic churches completed in 1868 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Neoclassical architecture in London Franciscan churches in the United Kingdom Neoclassical church buildings in England