Holy Ghost, Luton

Introduction

Holy Ghost in Luton is a large church of the mid-1960s by Desmond Williams & Associates. The church was built in 1963-4 from designs by Desmond Williams and Associates of Manchester.

History

A parish centre was built to the southwest of the church in 1974. In 1967, the Diocese of Dublin was invited to undertake the staffing of the Parish. In 2002 the parish was returned to the priests of Northampton Diocese.

Architecture and furnishings

To suit the small site the church was designed in the form of a square, with shallow transepts. The building has a reinforced concrete frame, clad in brick. A projecting west entrance has three large, arched windows containing stained glass. The porch and the main body of the church have brown brick walls under a shallow pitched roof.

The nave roof, shaped in a zig-zag, is supported on each side by a series of brown brick piers pierced with arches at the base. Part way along the south wall of the nave is a flat-roofed, single-storey space with two confessionals and a central shrine to Our Lady. The Blessed Sacrament Chapel was created in 1990 by enclosing the south transept with part-glazed walls. The Narthex was redesigned in 2015.

The current sanctuary arrangement dates from 1984. To celebrate 50 years of our church building we commissioned an icon of Pentecost to honour the Holy Spirit. It was built in 1903 by the fine organ builders, Messrs Wadsworth and Bro of Manchester, a firm founded in 1860. Behind the sanctuary is a wide curtain, obscuring a painting of the Holy Spirit, Our Lord and the Disciples, and also the original clerestory roof.

All the windows in the church contain coloured glass in narrow bands. The pipe organ came from St John’s Methodist Church, Connah’s Quay, Flintshire. The organ case is of quality pitch pine with specially figured panels and return panels to soffit level, with large pedal pipes planted on top. The organ has stops including Open Diapason 8, Bourdon 16, Violin Diapason 8, Gamba 8, Principal 4, Fifteenth 2, and Oboe 8. The parish hosts weekly Mass for the Polish community and monthly Masses for the Syro Malankara and Syro Malabar Rites from India.

Parish life

The parish is part of the Luton and Dunstable Deanery, which works through its Pastoral Area Council. The parish works with other Christian churches in the Bury Park Beech Hill Council of Churches, which includes Anglican, Methodist and United Reformed churches. The parish works with Luton Council of Faiths and the Grassroots organisation to develop relationships with other faiths. The parish has a Bethany Group Mass for those with special or extra needs and their families.

The parish has a University Chaplaincy Mass at the Treehouse. The parish has a ministry to the sick. The parish has a Mass in Hospital Chapel on First Fridays.

The parish has a broad spectrum of nationalities among its parishioners. The parish centre hosts many events for the community. A printed guide explaining the church in detail is available in the building.