St. Bernard's Church, Burnage

Introduction

The building firm of Browne of Wilmslow moved onto the site of the new church on April 8th 1957.

History

The first recorded reference to establishing a church in Burnage is found in October 1939 in the minutes of the Diocesan Schools Commission. In October 1941 the Registrar General issued a Certification of Registration for Saint Bernard's to be used as a place for religious worship. In September 1942 the chapel was issued with a certificate authorising the use of the building for the Solemnisations of Marriage.

A target of £55,000 was set for the erection of the church. The old chapel was transformed into the Parish Hall in February 1962.

In June 1967 the Union of Catholic Mothers gave a tabernacle to be placed on the side altar. Father Robert Conway became the priest-in-charge on October 18th 1947.

Father Horgan died suddenly on October 7th 1968. Shawbrook Lodge was built in 1864 by Howard Aston Holden, a wealthy Manchester merchant, on a two-acre site purchased from Earl Egerton of Tatton. Bishop Henshaw purchased Shawbrook Lodge from A.E. Turnbull on behalf of the Diocese on February 21st 1930. The house and grounds were leased to the Burnage Garden Society, which made them its headquarters.

In February 1941, Father John McNulty, with occasional help from his brother Father Anthony McNulty, the Vicar-General of the Diocese, began converting the ground floor of the Lodge into a chapel. Bishop Marshall blessed the newly constructed chapel on the eve of Pentecost, May 31st 1941. The new chapel could accommodate 150 to 180 people. In September 1941, the hallway of the house was incorporated into the church.

The alterations to the Lodge left the Parish owing the Diocese £3,400 in December 1941. By December 1945, that debt had been reduced to £1,932. In February 1943, two small rooms at the side of the chapel were fitted with a double folding door so they could serve as standing room for Sunday Mass.

The foundation stone was laid by George Andrew Beck on Saturday November 9th 1957. By 1967, the Parish debt had been reduced to £30,000. In 1967, the Catholic population was 2,250. Mass attendance averaged 1,363.

Music and liturgy

A parish choir was formed, with Miss Helen Condon as its first organist. Miss Parr played the harmonium. In February 1945, Bishop Marshall gave permission for an extra Sunday Mass to be said. It was agreed that in future all children from Saint Bernard's should make their First Communion and be confirmed in Saint Bernard's chapel rather than elsewhere. The parish prays for the sick and housebound.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The parish supports CAFOD's Family Fast Day, with envelopes available. The parish has a sanctuary lamp that burns for intentions, with a £5 offering suggested.

The parish formed a youth club and held dances and socials in the Hall of Green End Junior Girls School. The parish organised a Parish Dance in November 1947 in Levenshulme Town Hall, which made £10 profit. The parish had a football sweep organised by Mr Daggatt, making 30 shillings profit per week. The parish had a social committee formed to raise funds for the school, with Mr Egan as first chairman and Miss Somers as secretary.

The parish had a Sodality of the Children of Mary, with Miss Margaret Egan as president. The parish had Miss Mary Agnes Berrell as its first catechist. The parish had confraternities set up for both men and women.