Our Lady Star of the Sea

Introduction

Our Lady Star of the Sea in Lytham Saint Annes was built in 1890 and is closely connected to the Clifton family. The church was designed by Pugin and Pugin of London, sons of Augustus Welby Pugin.

History

The church was built in 1890 after Canon James Taylor of St Peters determined that the growing population of St Annes warranted a Catholic church. In 1888 Lady Madeline Clifton bought the land and leased it to the church for 999 years. The church opened on Sunday June 15th 1890, with Dr O’Reilly Bishop of Liverpool present. Apart from the reordering of the sanctuary after Vatican II, alterations have been in line with the original design.

Parish life

Four times a year a special Mass with the Sacrament for the Sick is celebrated at the Parish Centre. The parish has ten Eucharistic Ministers who take the sacrament to the sick and housebound and about forty who minister at Sunday and weekday Masses. The parish has an annual Day of Recollection for Servers, Readers and Eucharistic Ministers. The parish has an RCIA annual programme that starts in September and finishes in June, and since 2007 46 new Catholics have been welcomed into the parish community.

The parish is part of the Kirkham Deanery and has good school and ecumenical links. Mothers' prayers meet monthly in the Parish Centre praying for all children. The parish has two prayer groups, one meeting fortnightly on a Wednesday evening at the Parish Centre.