St. Paul

Introduction

Bishop Amigo laid the foundation stone on 30 October 1928, and the church opened on 12 June 1930 at a cost of £9000.

History

Longley's, the local builder, carried out the construction of the church. The church was consecrated in 1990, having previously managed with a temporary altar. The brick building was never fully completed, and the original design was said to be after the style of Westminster Cathedral.

Architecture and furnishings

The principal door of solid oak is framed in a surround of marble with a figure of Saint Paul in Venetian glass mosaics above. The Stations of the Cross, crafted in northern France, were the gift of the local editor of The Mid Sussex Times in memory of his parents, Charles and Anne Hayden. The roadside crucifix was donated by Miss Amy Berkeley, with words taken from a wayside cross in Stubaital Valley in the Tyrol.

Parish life

More than 20 Eucharistic Ministers take Holy Communion to parishioners and the wider community who cannot attend Mass. The parish takes a collection for the local foodbank on the first Saturday/Sunday of each month.

The parish runs an RCIA programme for those who wish to be baptised, received into full communion, or confirmed, and for lapsed Catholics seeking a refresher. The parish runs five baptism preparation courses a year and holds a group baptism roughly every month. After baptism, accompaniment and family formation is offered, building ways to support families with young children.

The parish is linked with St Paul's Pre-School. The parish provides Sacraments for the Sick to those going to hospital, care home, or housebound, upon request. The parish originated in 1886 from the Mass Centre at the Chapel of the Priory of Our Lady of Good Council, Haywards Heath.