St Peter and the Guardian Angels, Rotherhithe

Introduction

St Peter and the Guardian Angels in Rotherhithe is built of London stock brick, with six tall round-headed windows and an inset arched and gabled entrance.

History

In 1858 a chapel was created in rooms of a large house in Rotherhithe Street, while the adjacent Church of the Immaculate Conception was built and completed in 1861. The first parish priest of St Peter's arrived in 1891, and Father Joseph Haynes conducted Mass in a chapel established in Paradise Street at the school of St Joseph in 1892. The church was redecorated in 2013.

Architecture and furnishings

The church has a timber roof supported on hammer beams and a large round window set into its western end. There is a choir gallery and a stone font that sits on five columns with various emblems. A small organ was added in 1922. Between 1925 and 1930 Father David Leahy added an eastern apse with a sanctuary containing a baldacchino arch in Sicilian marble.

The sanctuary has a giant white marble baldacchino with coffering and Egyptian-style capitals. The forward altar, ambo and retaining walls are all of Sicilian marble. The Stations of the Cross are framed canvas paintings by Luigi Morgari. The statue of Saint Joseph is by Mayer of Munich. The statues in the church were installed shortly after the church was built.

Parish life

The parish SVP Conference has supported a twinned SVP Conference in Kerala, India, through prayer, contact and practical help. A group of catechists shares their faith with adults and children and helps with preparation programmes for Baptism, First Confession, First Holy Communion, RCIA and Confirmation. Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist assist at Masses and also take Communion to the sick and housebound within the parish. The parish has a Guardian Angels Climate Sunday Group.

The parish has a Legion of Mary. The parish lists Up Market, a local community charity shop whose proceeds support community projects, with the motto “From the Community, Back to the Community”.

A group of readers reads the Epistle and Responsorial Psalm at weekday Masses, the Saturday Vigil Mass and Sunday Masses. The parish has a shop that is open before and after Mass.

Sacraments and pastoral care

The parish SVP Conference supports local people and runs the parish food bank. Children who have not yet made their First Holy Communion are invited by the Priest to the Newman room, where they participate in prayers and listen to a simplified version of the Gospel for that day.