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Parish Profile
Westminster Record | August 2014
St Agnes, Cricklewood: ‘The craic is good in Cricklewood’ By Chris O’Callaghan
few stations north of St Pancras lies the suburb of Cricklewood and the church of St Agnes. A 1930s brick building set back from the road, it stands on what Parish Priest Fr Paul McDermott calls ‘Holy Hill’, as the church is next to a Hindu Temple and opposite a Shi’a mosque, the three places of worship making it a busy religious hub in the area. Its interior is much larger than it appears on the outside with brick walls and pillars and a plain wooden roof. The apse of the church contains the white stone ambo and matching altar, both with engraved crucifixes painted gold, whilst the bright red carpet of the sanctuary stands out against the harsher brick colours of the building. Yet despite this, high windows fill the space with light. Founded in 1883 as a mission from the nearby parish of St Mary in Hampstead, the parish truly began to flourish in the 1960s when Irish migrants arrived in the area to work as labourers. There continues to be a strong Irish presence in the community of first and second generation economic migrants, so much so that it has been referred to as ‘County
A
Cricklewood’. Although some of the second generation of migrants have moved further out to places such as St Albans, Irish heritage still is a crucial part of parish life and identity. The immigrant identity of the community remains evident, with a recent influx of Filipinos, West Africans, Goans and Poles coming to the area for the same reasons the Irish did in the 1960s. Despite this international mix, Fr Paul is keen to stress integration within the community and so there are no separate ethnic Masses. However there is an annual International Mass when the diversity of the parish is celebrated. A down-to-earth pastor, Fr Paul is relaxed and friendly with a dry wit and forthrightness. Training in Rome and Allen Hall followed by pastoral placements as a hospital chaplain and in Chelsea led to him becoming Parish Priest in 2007. Fr Paul describes his time as hospital chaplain as the most formative of his ministry: ‘It taught me what the priesthood was about, by being with people at some of the worst times of their life. It gave me a real focus on the ministry of presence and reminded me that priests should be present for the sorrow as well
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as the joy.’ He is keen to stress the importance of Catholic chaplaincy in hospitals and reminded me that priests do not just anoint the dying. They should also be present for the hospital staff to support them spiritually as well, from Chief Executives to cleaners. Fr Paul also leads the diocesan pilgrimage to the Holy Land, taking the fourth, and largest, group in November. He describes the pilgrimage to Israel as ‘a journey of faith renewal and a place to show solidarity with Palestinian Christians’ and hopes it will become an even larger part of the life of the diocese. He is assisted at Cricklewood by Fr Oscar Ardila, a Colombian priest who discerned his vocation to the priesthood while studying in London. He was only ordained last year but Fr Paul says he is passionate and lively, sharing many of his visions.
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St Agnes was one of the first parishes to pilot the diocese’s Growing in Faith initiative. Fr Paul has nothing but praise for his parishioners for embracing the scheme: ‘the most impressive thing that came out of it was a real sense of love that the people had for the Church and especially for the priests and priesthood’. He plans to use the funds in three ways: ongoing adult faith formation in the parish, social outreach projects and care for the elderly and isolated in co-ordination with Age UK. This concern for those in need stems from a tradition in the parish dating back to 1983 when parishioners founded ‘Cricklewood Homeless Concern’ to work feeding the homeless in the area. This legacy of concern is a proud one for the parish and one that Fr Paul plans to build on in future. A group for elderly people is just one of many in the parish.
Young adults meet together and this year’s ‘excellent’ Confirmation group asked Fr Paul for a space to come together so that the bonds formed in the run-up to the sacrament are not broken. Time and energy is offered by many both in prayer groups and in catechesis for adults and young people, using the resources of the multi-purpose Parish Centre. There is a real buzz in the parish and something seems to be happening constantly. The Irish community of Cricklewood has a saying: ‘the craic is good in Cricklewood’. I left thinking the parish isn’t bad either. Founded: 1883 Church built: 1930 Mass Times: (Sat 6.30pm), 9, 10.30, 12noon, 6.30pm. Address: 35 Cricklewood Lane, NW2 1HR Telephone: 020 8452 2475 Website: http://parish.rcdow. org.uk/cricklewood Page 5