St Paul Church

Introduction

St Paul Church in Dover was designed by Edward W. Pugin, son of Augustus Welby Pugin, in the Early English style.

History

The sacristy was built in 1892, after being planned first on the south side and then the north. On 22nd August 1940, a German shell fell very close to the church, damaging neighbouring houses. Father Laws celebrated the golden jubilee of his priesthood in April 1904, with the whole town of Dover joining in.

Architecture and furnishings

The stained glass window above the altar depicts St Paul and was installed following the 1987 fire. The rose window, since the fire, depicts a lighthouse, associating the church with the port of Dover.

The church opened on 15th May 1868, with the apsidal east end still incomplete. The apse, adding 30 feet, was completed in 1873, and a second opening took place that year. The church's bell was cast in 1878, possibly as a gift.

An Apostolic Blessing from Pope John Paul II on the wall offers a blessing and pledge of divine protection on the re-opening of the church on 28th October 1988. The 2nd window is dedicated to May Gertrude Holder and Elsie Eliza Versey, grandmothers to a parish family. The 9th window is dedicated to St Vincent de Paul, with panels showing him pleading the cause of children, receiving deserted children, and inviting Sisters to the hospital. The 11th window focuses on the Crucifixion of Our Lord, supported by his Mother Mary and Saint John.

The 12th window is devoted to Our Lord, The Good Shepherd, with the text 'Suffer the little Children to come unto me.' The 13th window portrays Saint Francis of Assisi, a crowned Lord as 'King of Glory', and Blessed Anthony Broder, a Franciscan Martyr. On either side of the Sanctuary are paintings: the right depicting the Road to Emmaus and the left showing Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac. The floor in front of the Altar dedicated to Mary, Our Lady, includes a columbarium.

The church has 14 station plaques depicting various scenes of the Passion of Christ, beginning with the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate. The church has a small alcove displaying the Bene Merenti medal of Jimmy Green.

The church houses a display cabinet holding four Bene Merenti medals awarded by the Pope to lay members of the parish. The church has a statue of St Peter on the right as one enters.

Music and liturgy

At the opening ceremony, an efficient choir from Gravesend sang Mozart's Twelfth Mass. The Children's Liturgy is called 'The Mustard Seeds'. The fourth window is dedicated to brothers Denis and Keith O’Meara. A side window commemorates the parish pilgrimage to Fatima in 1988.

Parish life

The parish holds a weekly Thursday morning bible study at St Paul's. The parish has a lively choir and a highly popular Children's Liturgy.

The parish has a street pastor who helps at the night shelter, soup kitchen and Community Table. The parish has three schools: Saint Joseph's in Aylesham, Saint Richard's in Dover, and Saint Edmund's Comprehensive.

Visiting

The third window, reconstructed from fragments of windows damaged in the war, is dedicated to William McVey. The Sanctuary is the focal point of the church, where the tabernacle houses the Blessed Sacrament.