Worshipping Together
The parish church and the community that gathers there for Mass are, for many Catholics, at the heart of their religious identity. It is the place where parishioners accompany each other and those in their wider community, creating a sense of shared purpose. The parish church is a place for private prayer, communal worship, active charity and friendship across generations. It is a place where all are nurtured in their faith, the young learn to find their sense of purpose and vocation, young couples learn about the responsibilities of marriage and are helped to grow in love as a family, and neighbours and strangers are welcome.
Central to Catholic practice is what is known as the Sunday Obligation. This is the solemn duty of all baptised Catholics to attend Mass on Sundays and special feast days, referred to as Holy Days of Obligation. Of course, there are circumstances in which this obligation does not apply: illness, or caring for someone who is ill or infirm, necessary and unavoidable work or travel, lack of transport, or the unavailability of a Mass to attend, for example. With over 200 parishes in the diocese, and good transport links in much of it, Catholics in the Diocese of Westminster are fortunate that there is almost always a locally-accessible Sunday Mass to attend.
Approximately 106,000 Catholics attended Sunday Mass regularly in parishes in the diocese in 2023. To accommodate the needs of the large variety of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities there is an array of services in multiple languages, formats and rites. There are 33 ethnic chaplaincies that regularly hold Masses, at least once a month, in one or more parishes in the diocese, where a particular community can gather to celebrate Mass in their own language. There are also a dozen chaplaincies providing worship and pastoral ministry in other Catholic Rites. There is also regular provision of signed and sign interpreted Masses in a number of parishes for the Deaf community and Catholics with intellectual disabilities
and their families. All are welcome.
Following the pandemic, many parishes continue to see smaller numbers of Catholics attending Sunday Mass than had attended in 2019. Attendance continues to increase, with approximately 106,000 Catholics attending Mass in the diocese in 2023, compared with roughly 91,000 in 2022. There remain some individuals who are still not able to attend Mass in person because their health is compromised to the extent that they cannot safely join public events. For the typical Catholic in ordinary circumstances, the bishops have stressed that Sunday Mass attendance should be in person for the reason that all Catholic sacraments require presence. Holy Communion received during the celebration of the Mass cannot be received remotely.
Lifelong Journey of Faith
For many who are born into Catholic families, the journey of faith begins with baptism as infants or young children, when they are welcomed into the Church, particularly in their parish. Others begin their journey as adults, often as a result of searching for meaning that they cannot find in worldly pursuits. Some are baptised at this point, while others who were already baptised in other Christian communities ask to be received into the Catholic Church. For all, baptism is the first step on their lifelong journey in the Church and the gateway to receiving the other sacraments. In 2023, 5,271 infants and children up to 7 years were baptised, and 800 children over 7 and adults were baptised or received into full communion across the diocese. Of the adults received into the Church, 350 catechumens and candidates from 73 parishes gathered at Westminster Cathedral on the first Saturday of Lent to celebrate the Rite of Election, an important milestone on their journey towards baptism and reception into full communion at Easter.
From an early age, as they continue to grow in their faith within their parish community and school, Catholics learn that their faith has a multitude of practical expressions. As young children, they learn to show kindness and respect to others. As they prepare for the sacraments, particularly confirmation, they are encouraged to reach out and serve others, in the local community or further afield in any part of the world where people are in need. In 2023, 5,000 young people were confirmed across the diocese.
One expression of service is through vocation. Each person is called to be and to serve in a particular way. In the words of St John Henry Newman, God calls each person ‘to do him a definite service’. For many, this may be the call to holy matrimony, or marriage, where a man and a woman commit their lives to one another and to the raising of children. These couples are called
upon to make sacrifices for the good of their family, and, ultimately, society, as they care for their children, educate them, form their consciences and teach them by example how to contribute to the common good. It is unsurprising therefore that marriages are often celebrated by families and entire communities; after all, they are an important milestone on the journey of life and of faith. In 2023, 650 couples residing in the diocese were married in local parishes, while a further 1,000 couples were prepared in parishes for marriage in other churches or overseas.
Marriage anniversaries highlight the enduring nature of a couple’s commitment to each other and to their families. In the diocese, couples celebrating significant anniversaries are invited to an annual Mass for Matrimony in Westminster Cathedral. Over 400 couples celebrating 13,000 years of marriage renewed their vows and gave thanks for the gift of married love. One couple present were celebrating 70 years of married life, a testimony to the strength of marriage as the centre of focus and stability for the family and for wider society.
The parish continues to be the centre of spiritual life for Catholics in the diocese, with congregations as vibrant as ever. Some celebrated significant anniversaries in 2023.
Among them were:
- Our Lady of Lourdes in New Southgate marked a century of Catholic worship and witness with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Vincent Nichols.
- In Homerton, Immaculate Heart of Mary and St Dominic Parish and St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School both marked 150 years of Catholic witness and education also with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Nichols.
- In Tottenham, the parishioners of St Francis de Sales commemorated the 128th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of the church by Cardinal Vaughan in 1895. The parish celebrated with a pilgrimage tracing the history of the parish to each of the three chapels that preceded the current church building. Bishop John Sherrington visited the parish and offered Mass to commemorate the occasion and the Catholic presence in North London since 1793.
- St Mary’s Church in East Finchley marked 125 years of Catholic worship and witness, and 70 years since the opening of the current church, with a Mass celebrated by Bishop Sherrington.
Walking in solidarity
While the cost of living crisis continued to take a toll on the most vulnerable in society, parishes and schools, individually or in collaboration with others in the local community and with the support of Caritas Westminster, continued to work towards alleviating the heavy burdens many of their neighbours bear.
The Caritas Food team continued to distribute supermarket vouchers through 118 parishes and schools to support individuals and families. First made available during the pandemic, these vouchers allow families to purchase food that is suitable to their specific needs. The cost of living crisis made it a necessity to continue this and other food initiatives, so additional funding was made available.
Food was also made available through a number of food banks, food pantries and community shops to those in the community who would otherwise not be able to feed themselves or their families. The Borehamwood Foodbank, based at the Church of St Teresa of the Child Jesus and founded in 2013, depends on the involvement of the whole community: parishioners, pupils from a number of local schools, businesses and other faith communities for donations, financial support and volunteers. Since its foundation, it has seen phenomenal growth. With additional financial support from Caritas and the local community, it has continued to expand its provision in response to further local needs by providing a full range of toiletries, help towards the cost of fuel to cook food, school uniforms and shoes for children whose families could not afford them, and family lunches during school holidays to alleviate hunger and provide a sense of community for local families.
One of the driving forces behind the launch of the Borehamwood Foodbank in 2013 was Kristan Payne, the founding Chair of Trustees, who worked tirelessly with the late Fr Dominic McKenna and a group of volunteers to get the project off the ground. It was a surprise and delight, therefore, when Kristan was recognised in the New Year’s Honour List in 2023 with a British Empire Medal for services to charity in her community. Reacting to the award, she said: ‘I am proud to have played my part in this and that it is still going strong after almost ten years of service to Elstree and Borehamwood. It goes without saying that we hoped by now to be unnecessary but sadly with the present climate the food bank is busier than ever. The food bank has strengthened the community as local people, businesses, schools and places of worship all donate to help their neighbours in need.’
Food provision isn’t only about handing out parcels of food, although that is vital, but it is also about finding creative ways to bring local people together to share a meal as a community. Our Lady of Fatima Parish in White City was the first parish in the diocese to partner with FoodCycle, a charity that uses surplus food to host a weekly meal. The FoodCycle team sources perfectly edible surplus food safely from food retailers, purchases additional dry ingredients and spices, and provides volunteers who cook and host. While the cooks prepare a three-course lunch, the volunteers prepare food bags for the guests to take away at the end of the meal. The parish invites guests from among local neighbours. All sit down together to enjoy the meal and companionship, building and strengthening the sense of community in White City.
The steep rise in the price of energy in the winter of 2022-23 had a profound effect on many, as households were suddenly faced with an impossible choice between paying unaffordable heating costs or enduring freezing homes. Along with other community spaces, 20 parishes and three projects from across the diocese threw open their doors to offer local people a warm welcome to their warm spaces. With small grants from Caritas to help with the cost of heating and refreshments, these parishes were able to help people who were already struggling financially get through a difficult winter, all the while enjoying connections with friends old and new.
Stories of shared community warmth
As parishes discern how they can serve their community to alleviate the effects of various shocks, they launch an initiative, only to find that local need is so great that they then have to find ways to meet these additional needs. One such parish is Sacred Heart in Holloway, where parishioners began delivering food parcels and food vouchers to those who were shielding during the pandemic. In 2021, they set up a food bank to provide food and essential household items to those who could not afford them. Soon they realised that many of the food bank’s clients were living on the edges of society. Working with Caritas, they looked at ways of addressing this social exclusion. They now offer warm cups of tea in winter and refreshing treats in summer, as well as a hot vegetarian meal cooked by one parish family. The many parish volunteers who make all this possible also include young people preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation. As one young person explains, ‘we enjoy spending time with our friends, and at the same time helping people.’ These young people learn that their faith is expressed in a practical way when they serve their neighbours, and help build up their community.
Discover the full story of Sacred Heart Parish’s food bank journey>
