St. Francis of Assisi

Introduction

Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Chester was solemnly opened on 29 April 1875, dedicated to St Francis of Assisi.

History

Bishop Brown of Shrewsbury laid the foundation stone of the new church on 23 September 1862. On 16 June 1864 a temporary wooden chapel with a capacity of 500 was erected on the site. The church contains commemorative tables to Father Pacificus, who rebuilt the church in 1875, and Father Venatius, who commenced it in 1863.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is built of red sandstone with banded grey and purple slate roof, expressed externally as a hall church with a narthex porch at the west end. The interior is largely plastered, painted and lined as if stone, with a west gallery on octagonal pitch-pine posts and wood-block floor. J O'Byrne designed the church, which was built between 1863 and 1875. The west front has paired oak-boarded doors on wrought-iron hinges set in shoulder-arched openings, with a pointed-arched five-light leaded window above.

In the west gable of the nave, a statue of Saint Francis in a canopied niche is flanked by a pair of two-light Geometrical windows. The north side has seven pairs of shoulder-arched one-light windows, and stone crosses crown the west and east end gables. Inside, six arch-braced trusses rest on corbels, and an arched chancel with a smaller arched chapel on each side continues from the nave. Two altars stand on each side of the nave, and reredoses are placed behind the High Altar and the side-chapel altars.

Music and liturgy

The pipe organ in the gallery was built by Gray and Davison of Birmingham and originally installed in 1895, apparently replacing an earlier harmonium. The organ is a fine small instrument in regular use at Sunday masses and also for concerts and recitals.

Parish life

The parish has a ministry to the sick, offering Holy Communion and Confession to sick people at home or in care homes. The parish runs a repository selling cards and gifts, with proceeds going to the upkeep of the church.

The parish has a WhatsApp group for parish news. The parish has a weekly newsletter containing special thoughts on the Sunday mass, weekly feasts, prayer days, anniversaries, prayer requests and mass intentions. The parish has a Prayers page recording anniversaries of family and friends who have died in the parish. The parish has a virtual tour of the church available online. The parish has a published book 'Franciscans In Chester' detailing the history of the church.

Visiting

The church has a repository where devotional books and articles may be bought. The repository has a good stock of Mass, Prayer and general cards, and Holy Water from Lourdes.

Every year on 3rd October, the ceremony of the Transitus, or Passing of St Francis, is celebrated in the church around sunset. The church has a shrine of St John Plessington, which visitors pass on the tour. The church has a Chapel of St Joseph, a memorial chapel commemorating the Hostage and Bordessa families. The church has a painting of the Crucifixion, placed in memory of John Alfred Williams.

The church has a memorial to the men associated with the parish who fell in the Great War, 1914-18. The church has a font used for baptisms, near which stands the Paschal candle, lit during the ceremony. The church has a picture of the Divine Mercy on the wall behind the font. The church has a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the left of the steps leading to the altar.

The church has statues of St Augustine and St Patrick high up near the top of the wall on either side. The church has a small plaque commemorating the Rev Ralph Platt, who died in 1837. The church has Stations of the Cross, fourteen representations of incidents on Christ's route from Pilate's judgement hall to the tomb. The church has a car park for Church and Hall use only.