St. Ignatius of Loyola

Introduction

Saint Ignatius of Loyola Church in Sunbury-on-Thames was formally opened on 23 May 1869 by Archbishop Manning. The church is built of Kentish Ragstone with freestone dressings in 13th-century style. The parish was founded in 1862.

History

Archbishop Manning laid the foundation stone on 21 July 1868. The church was built by volunteer local labourers. The architect was Charles A. Buckler, and the builders were Alfred Castle and Oliver Whittle. The church was built with an apsidal chancel, a nave of four bays, and an aisle with circular columns.

Father John Davis succeeded Father Browne in 1883 and his brother Thomas Davis succeeded him in 1898. The church was built with three plain leaded windows in the sanctuary to illuminate the altar. The central sanctuary window was the final part of a refurbishment that began in 1979, with the main part completed in 1983.

Architecture and furnishings

The bell was gifted by John Henry Scott in 1900. The St Ignatius window in the nave commemorates Father Patrick Murray, who served as parish priest for 29 years until his death in 1952. The church has a window of four compartments with geometrical tracery over the principal entrance, coupled lancet nave windows with quatrefoils, and simple lancet aisle windows except the end window with two lights and trefoil. An elegant chancel arch with sculptured capitals supports the gabled bell-turret; the nave and aisle roofs are open timber work, and the chancel roof is arched, boarded, stained and decorated.

The sanctuary ceiling was enhanced with blue and gilt in 1998, commissioned by the parish priest. The bell was refurbished and returned to Sunbury on 5 May, with a new clapper replacing the original from 1897.

Inside the church are two commemorative stained-glass windows, one dedicated to all soldiers who fell in 1914-1918 and the other to Second Lieutenant Charles H.S. Bruno who died in 1918. The statues of Our Lady and St Joseph just outside the chancel arch were put in by Father John Davis not long after his arrival in 1883. In 1898 an ornate silver altar dedicated to the Sacred Heart with a silver lamp was erected, donated by Father Thomas Davis in memory of his brother. The altar rails were a gift of the Collins family and were fixed by a Mr Farmer.

The Great War memorial plaque outside the church gives the names of forty local men who died in the Great War. The two commemorative stained-glass windows feature the Roman martyr St Alban and the first century martyr St Edmund. The sanctuary ceiling mural was one of George Ostrehan's final works, as he died of cancer on 9 October 1903. The sanctuary ceiling mural was painted by George Ostrehan, who with his wife Eva established a residential school of art in Sunbury.

The sanctuary ceiling mural depicts St Gregory kneeling in prayer for England at the feet of Our Lady. The sanctuary ceiling mural depicts St Ignatius kneeling at the left of St John the Baptist. The pulpit was built in memory of Father Browne on his death in 1897.

Regular events

The parish takes up a CAFOD Family Fast Day collection on the Harvest Family Fast Day. A Traidcraft stall offers the usual range of fair trade products. A Repository is open before and after all Masses.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The parish brings Holy Communion to those who are sick or housebound. Confirmation for anyone over the age of 16 is arranged by contacting the priest.

The parish asks parishioners to contact the priest to arrange a visit for someone who is very ill. Funerals are booked by contacting the Parish Office. The parish supports bereavement through Cruse Bereavement Support.

Visiting

The parish has a church cleaning team. The parish has a group of Ministers of the Word.

The church has a history book for sale to visitors. The Great War memorial plaque was originally inside the church and was moved outside in 1998. The church has a window dedicated to Second Lieutenant Charles H.S. Bruno who died in 1918. The two sanctuary windows flanking the centre were installed in the early years of the twentieth Century and commemorate two brothers who were both parish priests in Sunbury. The sanctuary window on the right shows St Thomas of Canterbury and is in memory of Father Thomas Davis, Rector from 1898 to 1904.