St Winefride's Church (also known as St Winifred's Church or St Winefred's 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 ...

Holywell Holywell may refer to: England * Holywell, Bedfordshire * Holywell, Cambridgeshire * Holywell, Cornwall * Holywell, Dorset * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Sussex * Holywell, Gloucestershire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Ho-Hoo#Hol, location in ...

, Flintshire. It was founded 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 ...

and was until recently the first church in the United Kingdom to be administered by the

Vocationist Fathers The Society of Divine Vocations () abbreviated S.D.V., also commonly known as the Vocationists, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation founded by Fr Giustino Russolillo in 1920. See also * St Winefride's Church, Holywel ...

now since departed as the parish returns into diocesan hands. It is Grade II listed building.British listed buildings
retrieved 20 October 2013 It was the first church the Jesuits built in Wales.

History

It was founded by the Jesuits in 1832. They went on to establish

St Beuno's College St Beuno's Jesuit Spirituality Centre, known locally as St Beuno's College, is a spirituality and retreat centre in Tremeirchion, Denbighshire, Wales. It was built in 1847 by the Jesuits, as a theology college. During the 1870s the Victorian poet Ge ...

in 1848. From the college they also founded other churches and missions such as Our Lady of the Assumption Church in

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

in 1851, in Denbigh in 1853, St Winefride's Church in

St Asaph St Asaph (; "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population ...

in 1854, Our Lady Help of the Christians Church in

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; ) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and Rhewl. The name comes from the Welsh ''rhud ...

and Our Lady of Ransom and the Holy Souls Church in

Llandrindod Wells Llandrindod Wells (; ; ; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. It serves as the seat of Powys County Council, and is therefore the administrative centre of Powys. The town was Historic counties of Wales, historically in ...

in 1907. By the 1930s they were asked by the

Bishop of Menevia The Bishop of Menevia was the ordinary of the Diocese of Menevia in the Province of Cardiff in the Catholic Church in Wales. The Diocese of Menevia covered an area of roughly consisting of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot, ...

, Francis Vaughan to hand over the church to the Diocese of Wrexham. On 19 August 1991, the church was designated a Grade II listed building. On 6 April 2008, the

Bishop of Wrexham The Bishop of Wrexham is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wrexham in the Province of Cardiff in Wales. The diocese covers an area of and consists of the Welsh historic counties of Anglesey, Caernarfonshire, Denbighshire, Flintsh ...

Edwin Regan Edwin Regan (born 31 December 1935) is a Welsh prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the second Bishop of Wrexham from 1994 to 2012. Biography Edwin Regan was born in Port Talbot, and studied at St. John's Seminary, Waterford, ...

, invited the Vocationist Fathers to the church who until 24 April 2023 administered the parish. it has now reverted back to a diocesan priest administration as before.

Shrines

Holywell

Within the parish is one of the

Seven Wonders of Wales The Seven Wonders of Wales () is a traditional list of notable landmarks in north Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, En ...

, St Winefride's Well, a shrine and site of pilgrimage. The shrine and relics are in the care of the church.

Pantasaph

Close to the parish, near Holywell, is the ''National Shrine of St Pio and St David's Church'' in the village of Pantasaph. It was founded in 1852, by the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ...

Parish

The Vocationist Fathers also serve the Sacred Heart church in

Hawarden Hawarden (; ) is a village and community (Wales), community in Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the Deeside conurbation on the Wales-England border and is home to Hawarden Castle (medieval), Hawarden Castle. In the 2011 United Kingdom census, ...

. The church was founded by the Diocese of Wrexham and was built in the late twentieth century. It has one Sunday Mass at 10:30am.Parish
from SacredHeartCatholicChurchHawarden.org retrieved 10 September 2021 St Winefride's has three Sunday Masses, one at 6:00pm on Saturday evening in the church, and at 9:30am and 5pm on Sunday in the chapel of St Winefride's Well. There are weekday Masses at 9:30am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and at 7:00pm on Tuesday and Thursday.

Stained glass

File:St Winefride's Church chapel stained glass, Holywell.jpg File:St Winefride's Church nave stained glass, Holywell.jpg St Winefride's Church aisle stained glass, Holywell.jpg

References

External links

*
St Winefride's Church Main Website

Vocationist Fathers UK site

St Winefride's Well site

Pantasaph Franciscan Friary site

Artwork at St Winefride's Church, Holywell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holywell, Saint Winefride Church Grade II listed churches in Flintshire Grade II listed Roman Catholic churches in Wales Roman Catholic churches completed in 1912 1832 establishments in Wales Neoclassical architecture in Wales 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom Vocationist churches in the United Kingdom Neoclassical church buildings in the United Kingdom