Mass times this week
Regular weekly timetable
Mon
- –
Tue
- 10:00
Wed
- 10:00
Thu
- 10:00
Fri
- 10:00
Sat
- 10:00
- 18:00 Vigil
Sun
- 10:00
- 11:30
Services with timing to confirm
These source labels need parish confirmation before they can be placed on a date.
Parish schedules can change on holy days of obligation.
What the parish's page says
Holy Mass Saturday (Vigil) – 6pm Sunday – 10:00am & 11:30am Weekday Mass (Tuesday to Saturday) – 10:00am
Confession Times
- Saturday
- 10:30 and after the 18:00 Mass
Adoration & Devotions
Holy Hour with Rosary
Friday 10:30
Blessed Carlo Acutis Holy Hour
First Wednesday of each month, 19:00–20:00
Adoration and Benediction
Last Sunday of each month, 18:00–19:00
Information sources
About St. Mary Star of the Sea
St. Mary Star of the Sea is a Roman Catholic church in Hastings, East Sussex. It is part of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
Introduction
Saint Mary Star of the Sea in Hastings, designed by Basil Champneys, was built in 1882-3 for the Pallottine Order at the instigation of Coventry Patmore.
History
The foundation stone was laid by the auxiliary Bishop of Southwark, William Wethers, on 28 March 1882. The church formally opened on 2 July 1883 in a ceremony attended by 3 bishops, 23 priests and the Rector General of the Pallotine Fathers. Patmore donated £5,300 on condition that the Catholic church contributed to the total cost of £15,000. The Pallottine Priests bought the plot of a former farmhouse extending between the High Street and the Bourne. The crypt was used for worship while the church was being built, before housing a school which remained there until the 1950s. The church is faced in flint cobbles and pebbles with freestone dressings and a shallow-pitched tiled roof. The high altar, with a buff alabaster frontal carved in low relief depicting the Resurrection, was a gift of the congregation and dedicated in 1891. The church was erected at the instigation of Coventry Patmore, in memory of his wife who died in 1880, and for the growing Catholic community in Hastings.
Architecture and furnishings
A small fleche rises over the west end, and a tall, narrow, circular stair turret is surmounted by a domed stone bell stage. The sanctuary is dominated by a richly carved reredos of Derbyshire alabaster, topped by a figure of the Virgin and Child. In the north aisle, a memorial chapel to Patmore's wife has a grey marble altar behind a pierced stone screen, dedicated to Coventry Patmore.
Music and liturgy
The organ loft occupies the westernmost bay of the nave, which is sub-divided by a late 20th-century screen to create a lobby beneath it. The plan includes a north transept, presbytery, and choir rooms. The church contains oak choir stalls with carved trefoil heads.
Visiting
The parish's Synod 2021-2024 documents, including the Final Synod Document and Pathways for the Implementation Phase, are available on the church's website under the heading SYNOD 2021-2024. The two SMSS Parish Synod Listening Reports can be found on the church's website. A downloadable response from the parish groups to the Synod, dated January 2022, is provided on the church's website.
Sources for this profile
- Roman Catholic Church of St Mary Star of the Sea, Non Civil Parish - 1191229 | Historic EnglandRetrieved 7 October 2026 Source text © Historic England, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summarised by RomanCatholic.co.uk.
- The Church – St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church HastingsRetrieved 27 September 2026
- Synod 2021-2024 – St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church HastingsRetrieved 6 September 2026
Find St. Mary Star of the Sea
Map location for St. Mary Star of the Sea
1 High St., Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 3EY