Parish Profile Haverstock Hill: The Black Friars in London
Westminster Record | May 2014
by Chris O’Callaghan
Our Lady giving the Rosary to St Dominic
n 4 May, Bishop Malcolm McMahon OP of Nottingham will be installed as the new Archbishop of Liverpool. With this in mind it seemed fitting to visit the new Archbishop’s home parish of Our Lady of the Rosary and St Dominic, Haverstock Hill, where he attended school and was an altar boy before entering the Dominicans in 1982. Later he returned to serve both as Parish Priest and Prior. Founded in 1867 by order of Cardinal Wiseman, who wanted churches on top of London’s hills to mirror Rome, the current priory, built a few later, now stands on the intersection of a busy north/south road. The most impressive element of the Church is the stained glass which sits high up on all sides, filling the building with colour and light. Fourteen side chapels, plus the main altar, signify the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary. Each chapel has an intricate stonework reredos depicting Biblical scenes, such as the Annunciation, Visitation and Pentecost. Last year St Dominic’s celebrated 150 years since its foundation and the history of the Church and of the Order in London have remained central to its identity. Did you know, for example, that Blackfriars Bridge was named in honour of the Dominicans? A reminder of this history can be found in one corner of the church, where
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stands a pillar from the old bridge which was donated to the Order after being found in excavations in 1900. St Dominic’s not only stands on a busy road, but at the crossroads of rich and poor in the area. The wall at the back of the church historically marked the boundary between St Pancras and the beginning of Hampstead and parish priest Fr Timothy Calvert tells me that the wall still represents the wealth divide of his parish. The Belsize Park area houses wealthier parishioners on the north side and Gospel Oak on the south historically the poorer. The Church acts as a meeting place for all in the community though, rich and poor, old and young or as one parishioner said ‘a little bit of everything’. St Dominic called his followers to be great preachers and this call continues to be a central part of parish life on the Hill. Parishioners agree that you can always expect a good homily from the Dominican Fathers. Their preaching does not just stay within the four walls of the Church, but rather is taken out into the world. The community has previously had a stall in the local market for people to request prayer intentions, as well as holding public ecumenical processions and visiting parishioners at home. Fr Timothy said he tries to visit all of the Communion candidates at home before they first receive the Sacrament and pray together with their family to promote faith in the home and also to meet members of his flock, a daunting task considering they have around 100 candidates a year. Fr Timothy also visits the primary school next door three or four times a week to be amongst the students and talk to them. The mission to preach that St Dominic gave remains central to the character of the parish. Parishioners spoke in glowing terms of all aspects of parish life. They describe Fr Timothy as ‘brilliant, creative, a man who loves everybody, full
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The West Entrance of St Dominic’s
of energy’. They spoke highly of the activities offered, particularly the sports club which keeps children away from gang culture and shows them the value of sport, the visitations to elderly parishioners, including at the care home where there is a Mass said every week and the new nursery in the parish hall. There was a real passion for the parish’s investment of time and effort and the people listed these activities with genuine enthusiasm. They all spoke in glowing terms about Fr Timothy, but I am sure he would say the same of his flock. Real friendships and mutual respect were evident in the time I spent there. Follow us on Twitter at: twitter.com/RCWestminster
Bishop Malcolm clearly learnt good pastoral ministry and interpersonal skills in his time at St Dominic’s. The man ‘who still thinks of himself as an altar boy’ is remembered fondly by those he left behind and when I asked them if he will make a good Archbishop, one word seemed to be repeated by all: ‘Absolutely’. Founded: 1867 Church built: 1874 Consecrated: August 1923 Mass Times: (Sat 6pm), 8.30, 10, 12, 6pm Address: St Dominic’s Priory, Southampton Road NW5 4LB Telephone: 020 7482 9210 Website: haverstockhill.org.uk
Stained Glass fills the building with colour Page 7