St. Patrick's Church, Redfield

Introduction

The Sisters of the Divine Saviour moved to St Patrick's in 1990 and live in a purpose-built convent adjacent to the church.

Architecture and furnishings

The three lancet crucifixion stained glass window was moved from the old Saint Patrick’s Church to its present position. The eight windows of the saints were taken from the disused Catholic cathedral in Bristol in Clifton. The two large circular stained glass windows were commissioned new for the church, and all restoration, relocation and new design was done by the Bristol firm Creative Glass. The ceiling and triptych were created by Romanian artist Dimitri Pascari; the ceiling was painted freehand in tempera and the triptych depicts the Last Supper in Byzantine style.

The mosaic on the back wall depicts the dream of Jacob, with a ladder reaching to heaven and angels ascending and descending. On the left of the altar, John the Baptist baptises Jesus in the River Jordan; on the right is the Last Supper, where Judas is the only apostle without a halo and holds a bag of money. Stephen Bradley created the two Holy Water Stoops in the Narthex, inscribed with words from Saint Peter and carved around the Baptismal Font in Clifton Cathedral, and the crystal chandelier in the Narthex. The Columbarium contains the ashes of the deceased in 250 small vaults that each house two caskets.

Music and liturgy

The choir leads music at Mass once a month and is heavily involved in Christmas and Easter Masses and special liturgical occasions. The music group's repertoire includes well-known psalms and hymns and instrumentalists such as flute and clarinet. Mass is celebrated each week in Portuguese and regularly in Polish and Hungarian, and occasionally in African languages.

Parish life

The parish has members from several African nations who have formed a community known as St Patrick’s Pan African Community. The parish supports CAFOD by having two Family Fast Days twice a year, in Lent and Advent, and at other times. The Sacrament of Confirmation is administered every two years, with Saint Patrick’s and Saint Joseph’s, Fishponds alternating hosting the Bishop for the Confirmation Mass. Parish fundraising is arranged by a small committee that meets regularly, with the two main events being the annual Summer Fete and Christmas Bazaar.

The priests, deacons and Eucharistic Ministers regularly visit the Sick and Housebound, providing Holy Communion, Confession, Anointing of the Sick and Pastoral Visits. St Patrick’s church holds several groups for the youth, including the Come & See group, Padua group, altar servers’ group and Glastonbury Prayer group. The parish has small teams of church cleaners who come together weekly, with Team A on Friday mornings 3 times a month and Team B once a month on Saturday morning. All daily and weekend Masses have Readers who proclaim the Word of God, trained by one of the Deacons.

The parish has a vocations group known as The Come and See Group, meeting once a month on a Sunday afternoon. Family and friends are welcome to visit the Columbarium during the church's opening hours, excluding services.

Regular events

The parish supports Missio by keeping a Red Box in homes and collecting loose change, which is counted each year. The Little Way Association, a Carmelite Discalced Group of Lay People, meets monthly on a Saturday for prayer, contemplation, Benediction, and socialising. First Holy Communion is celebrated every year in June. St Patrick’s Books of Remembrance are a pair of leather-bound volumes of gilt parchment paper, housed in a display case in the church.

Sacraments and pastoral care

Children receiving First Holy Communion preparation make their First Confession as part of the programme. The Sacrament of the Sick is always available on request before or after Mass and can be booked at other times through the parish office. Funeral services and Requiem Masses are organised through the parish office. The body of the deceased may be brought into the church the night before the funeral, with the Pastoral assistant organising a dignified celebration.

Mass intentions are printed in the weekly bulletin, and the priest mentions the intention at the beginning of Mass. Parishioners going into hospital are encouraged to receive the Sacrament of the Sick before any operation or procedure. Parishioners recovering at home from an operation or long term sick may receive Holy Communion throughout the duration of their illness.