Rebecca Creed
On Sunday, November 4, the parishioners of St Mary’s Church in Preston Park will celebrate the centenary of the opening of their church.
Past and present priests will join the parishioners in a service led by Bishop of Arundel and Brighton Kieran Conry.
St Mary’s started out as the convent chapel of Lourdes Convent School in Withdean in 1904.
The first Mass held at the convent had 20 parishioners. Today St Mary’s has 400 parishioners who regularly worship at the church and help serve the community.
The church was the vision of Father Fredrick Hopper and opened in 1912, despite a struggle to fund the build. The church had a tower but no permanent alter and building work was not completed until 1979.
A pastoral centre for the church, the Cassidy Centre, was opened in 2007 by Bishop Conry. The centre was funded by the generosity of benefactor, Cyril Cassidy, a greatly loved parishioner who died in 2004.
The Lourdes Convent closed in 2011, but the nuns’ example of dedicated service lives on in the work of the parish today.
The centenary celebrations will take place from 3pm.
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