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Parish Profile A Jubilee Year for Harrow South and Northolt Parish Westminster Record | November 2015
‘The story of this place is all about buildings’, says Fr James Neal, as he explains how the parish has grown since the middle of the last century. ‘What is important to remember is we’re one parish with two churches’, he stresses. St Gabriel’s in South Harrow was the original parish church. With the development of the Northolt racecourse in the 1940s and the growth of the village community, in 1959, then-Parish Priest, Fr Bernard Canham formed a Mass centre in an outbuilding belonging to a local pub to serve the needs of Catholics moving into the area.
time. Fr James’ predecessor, Fr Gerard Skinner, helped the parish get back on track with an austerity programme aimed at reducing the debt. ‘It’s utterly remarkable how the parish has cheerfully shouldered that burden and got rid of that big debt,’ says Fr James. Now that the debt has been paid completely, the parish has entered a new phase. As Fr James explains: ‘We needed to re-focus and remind ourselves why we’re really here. That’s why we have this year of Jubilee.’ The parish has come together to celebrate this Jubilee fittingly, socially as well as spiritually. The year began with a party. As Fr James says, ‘We can really put on a great party in this parish. That’s to do with the different nationalities and all the expert cooks in this parish.’ As the parish is one of the centres of the Polish Catholic Mission, parishioners combined forces with the Sacristan Ann, Parish Secretary Nicola Polish mission to put on a Corpus Christi festival in and Fr James Northolt. ‘We had a great It soon became apparent solemn Exposition and that a church would be Benediction accompanied by required and one day the choir from Harrow School,’ Fr Bernard happened to spot explains Fr James. The festival some land behind the pub that was such a success that the might serve. With some effort, parish is already thinking the land was purchased and a about plans for next year. church and presbytery were As the parish prepared to built. mark the 50th anniversary of ‘Since the the first Mass in St Bernard’s, 1960s, year by Fr James says, ‘We decided we year, so much needed to reflect on 50 years of energy has gone grace, of the sacraments into paying for bearing fruit in this so many projects community, in that life of the in the parish, parish community.’ beginning with Fr James invited the the building of Franciscan Friars of the St Bernard’s Renewal to hold a mission in St church in Gabriel’s during the week of 12 Northolt,’ September, ahead of the Jubilee explains Mass with Cardinal Vincent. Fr James. Reflecting on the week and the As the parish continued to overwhelming response from grow, alterations to both sites parishioners, he says, ‘From have been made to continue to the fullness of Christ, we have meet the needs of this vibrant received grace upon grace. We parish, adding social and had an opportunity to reflect meeting spaces and, more upon sacramental grace and to recently, re-ordering some give thanks to God.’ elements such as the placement Fr James remarks on the of the baptismal fonts and the prayerful nature of the parish. entrance to St Bernard’s. ‘There is great devotion,’ he With this growing list of notes. In addition to the older projects, a debt built up over parishioners, ‘the generation of Follow us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/diocese.westminster
faith’, like others in London the parish boasts a vibrant mix of nationalities. One sign of this devotion is the strong weekday Mass attendance and the Sunday Mass arrangement. As Fr James explains: ‘There is great pride and protectiveness, and a wonderful resilience.’ With two churches and a full Sunday Mass schedule, the parish relies on priests from outside the parish to assist. ‘I try to schedule it so that I’m in one church each Sunday on a strict rotation so that we can provide as stable a ministry as possible,’ he says. In response, parishioners have a very practical attitude. As Fr James notes, ‘they’re very generous about the different styles of priests who have come to celebrate Mass here’. In other ways, it is a parish of compromises. The office is located at St Gabriel’s and the presbytery is attached to St Bernard’s, with parish secretary Nicola holding the fort in one location while Fr James shuttles back and forth between both churches, often ferrying candles, newspapers and people.
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‘The spine of this place is the A312, which is notoriously congested at critical times,’ he notes. ‘Logistics are a constant dynamic.’ This is a critical factor for many young families who live in the parish. As Fr James explains, ‘we are a parish with two churches, two tube stations, two of everything, except one parish priest and no schools’. Despite several attempts over the years to establish a Catholic school in the parish, for one reason or another it has not come to fruition. Consequently, children attend Catholic primary schools in neighbouring parishes, with secondaryschool-age children typically going to Wiseman, Sacred Heart and the Salvatorian College. During the interview, Fr James observed that priests
often read a parish profile in the Record and think that all parishes must share these same characteristics. Yet, what emerges from this particular story is the resilient faith of this parish. The distances which parishioners are willing to travel to attend liturgies, the warm welcome extended to visiting priests, and the lengths parents are willing to go to ensure their children receive a Catholic education demonstrate in their own way the great devotion this parish has. It is therefore not surprising that, in this Jubilee year, the parish chose to hold a mission week to give thanks for the graces received and to rediscover their purpose as Catholics bearing witness in this area of West London. Founded: 1933 Mass Times: St Gabriel’s (Sat 6pm), 8.30, 10, 12noon St Bernard’s 9, 11, 5pm Telephone: 020 8864 5455 Website: parish.rcdow.org.uk/ harrowsouth Page 9