Our Lady of the Rosary, Sutton

Introduction

Our Lady of the Rosary in Sutton was consecrated on 5 October 1932 by Bishop Peter Amigo. The permanent church was opened on Rosary Sunday 1892 by Rev Monsignor Patterson.

History

Bishop Coffin purchased land on the corner of Carshalton Road and St Barnabas Road for £347, with the sale concluded on 3 October 1882. A temporary iron church costing £371 was erected on the site a year later. The permanent building, comprising the area of the nave and Lady Chapel, cost £1,187. In 1912 further land at the east end was purchased for £350, and alterations were completed twenty years later.

Old maps show the church originally dedicated to St Mary, while the Catholic Church on the corner site had always been dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. In 1892 a new and permanent building designed to meet the functions of both school and church was proposed.

Parish life

The parish has catechism classes on Saturday mornings for children in non-Catholic primary schools. Special ministers of Holy Communion bring Holy Communion to parishioners who are housebound or in nursing homes. The parish has an annual Service for the Sick in late September. The parish runs programmes to prepare children for First Holy Communion, for Confirmation, and to prepare adults to receive the sacraments at Easter.

The Knights of St Columba organization was formed in Glasgow in 1919 and a number of parishioners are members. The parish finance committee meets five times a year and advises on parish finance and building maintenance.