| Description | Although there had been formal Catholic worship in Potters Bar since the 1920s, the parish of Potters Bar East (and Elstree) was only formally established in 1967, following the construction of church of St Vincent de Paul and St Louise of Marillac on the site of the former church of St Francis Xavier (qv), destroyed by a V2 rocket in 1945. Between the destruction of the church of St Francis Xavier and the construction of the new church, parishioners attended the church of Our Lady of the Assumption (qv) which became the separate parish of Potters Bar West when the parish of Potters Bar East was established.
In 1957, Fr. Evelio Ortiz, a Vincentian who had been the Assistant Priest at St Francis Xavier between 1940 and 1945, returned to Potters Bar to take charge of the building of the new church. The foundation stone of the new church was laid by the Most Rev William Slattery SUP General CM on 22 July 1960. The stone bears the dates 1660 – 1960, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the death of St Vincent in Paris. The new church, dedicated to St Vincent de Paul and St Louise of Marillac, was opened by the Vincentians on the site of the former church of St Francis Xavier in Southgate Road in 1962. The church was one of the last designed by architect Francis Xavier Velarde, while a Spanish artist, Joachim Camin, carved the black marble altar and painted the mural on the wall behind the altar, measuring 30 feet by 16 feet. With seating capacity for over 200, many of the original parishioners of St Francis Xavier returned to the new church.
In 1967 St Vincent’s was designated the parish church of Potters Bar East and Fr Ortiz became the Parish Priest, while Our Lady of the Assumption became the parish church for Potters Bar West. From 1922 to 1992, some 55 Priests and Brothers served or studied in Potters Bar but as the number of Vincentians in residence at Hillside House declined, it was decided that the property would be sold and and the remaining Vincentians would return to Spain. Following their departure, a Diocesan Priest, Fr. Michael Donaghy, was appointed Parish Priest and St Vincent's was formally acquired by the Diocese of Westminster in 1995..
In 1996, the Hospitaller Order of St John of God, which had been in the area since well before the Second World War, took over the running of St Vincent’s, with the intention of developing it for their work of care. In view of this possibility, the question of amalgamating the two parishes of Potters Bar East and Potters Bar West was put on hold. Unfortunately negotiations were not concluded satisfactorily and, having found another suitable site for their work, the Brothers departed in 1998.
In 1998 Fr. Peter Lyness was appointed Parish Priest and in December 2001 December, following a provisional decision by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor that the two parishes should merge, a Steering Committee under the Chairmanship of Bishop James O’Brien VG was formed, which included the Parish Priests from Potters Bar East and Potters Bar West and three members from each parish. In August 2002, Fr. Peter Lyness left to become Parish Priest at St Teresa of the Child Jesus, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, and the two parishes of Potters Bar East and Potters Bar West were finally amalgamated. Three years later, in December 2005, the church of St Vincent de Paul and St Louise de Marillac was closed. Thereafter all Sunday Masses were held at the nearby Pope Paul Catholic Primary School.
A new parish church for Potters Bar was subsequently built on the site of the former church of Our Lady of Assumption, Potters Bar West, which closed in 2004. The parish church, adorned with items from the church of St Vincent de Paul and St Louise of Marillac, was opened and dedicated to St Vincent and Our Lady in 2006. |