Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Wilfrid Church

Introduction

The church was designed and constructed by John McManus and situated in Station Road, close to the station and dedicated to St Wilfrid.

History

In 1970 the Catholic population of Selsey became an independent parish, separate from Chichester. The total cost of the church, including furnishings, was £26,000. The new church was started in 1961, designed by architect Richard Hosford and built by W. Stirling. The new church was built on the same site as the old one, which was becoming too small.

In June 1939 a scheme to build a new church was turned down by donors because the Blessed Sacrament would not be reserved there. In 1928 a big fire next to the church caused considerable damage from fire, smoke, heat and water, and the parish priest Fr Measures arranged repainting and repair covered by insurance.

Architecture and furnishings

The bas relief of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Wilfrid was sculpted by Mr P Lindsey-Clark, based on a drawing by David O’Connell. The stained glass by Joseph Nuttgens includes 14 Stations of the Cross, seven small windows above the altar representing the seven Sacraments, and four side windows in the Sanctuary depicting the four Evangelists. The baptismal font was sculpted by John Skelton and is in Bath stone.

Sacraments and pastoral care

Baptism preparation courses take place each term, three times per year, with a mixture of face to face at St Richard's, Chichester and online contact. The baptism preparation course follows the 'Growing Up Catholic' programme. Baptisms usually take place either at one of the Sunday Masses or outside of Mass over one weekend at the end of each course, with more than one child often baptised at the same ceremony.

The parish requires at least one year's notice for weddings. The parish offers the Sacrament of the Sick upon request by contacting a priest or the Parish Office. For those in St Richard's Hospital, staff can page an on-call priest upon request. The parish offers a 'Preparing a Catholic Funeral' leaflet to help those arranging a funeral.