| Description | The Parish of Sunbury-on-Thames is situated in the Upper Thames Deanery. The Sunbury mission was founded in 1862, as the population in the area grew following the advent of the railway line there. In 1867, Fr James Richardson Browne became the parish priest and in a letter toThe Tablet appealed for donations to build a permanent church to replace the existing chapel at Laurel Cottages, just north-east of Sunbury Station. Most of the Catholic population in Sunbury at this time comprised Irish immigrants who had come to work in local market gardens. They helped to build the new church, with the foundation stone being laid by Archbishop Manning in July 1868. The church was completed in 1869 and consecrated on 22nd May, 1884. It is built of Kentish Ragstone, with freestone dressings, in the style prevalent in England in the 13th Century.
There is a window in the nave of the church which features St Ignatius of Loyola. It was installed in memory of the service of Father Patrick Murray, who served as parish priest for 29 years until his death on 14 February 1952 at the age of 77. He had been a priest for 49 years. In 1996, a window was installed in the central Sanctuary overlooking the tabernacle, depicting the risen Christ, to commemorate more than sixty years of devoted service to the parish given by the Sisters of Charity of St. Pau from the 1920s until their departure in 1988.
On Sunday 19th May 2019, Cardinal Vincent Nichols celebrated the 11.30pm Mass commemorating the 150th anniversary of the church of St Ignatius of Loyola.
|