By Fr Patrick Allsop, Parish Priest
Homerton parishioners were delighted that Cardinal Vincent Nichols came to celebrate Mass for them on their Patronal Feast Day, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 18th June 2023.
The Cardinal rejoiced in his homily at the devotion of parishioners to Our Lady, and at the gifts and favours she had won for the parish over one and a half centuries.
When Cardinal Manning visited, he was always greeted with torrential rain. Cardinal Vincent came in brilliant sunshine.
He joined in the reception after Mass in St Dominic’s Catholic Primary School Hall; the school is also 150 this year.
He was greeted with a danced welcome by the members of the Union of Catholic
Mothers, who also prepared the meal, decorated the hall, served the food, and cleared away afterwards. On top of this, they are making a sponsored walk to raise funds for the development of the parish hall.
The parish was founded in 1873 by Fr George Akers to minister to the Irish immigrant population in Homerton and Hackney Wick. He thought there were 300 families: over 1,000 were quickly identified!
First, he built the school, which still serves KS2 children today, then the house, and finally the church which was consecrated in 1884.
It suffered serious damage in 1941 from a German bomb which left it roofless. Mass was transferred to the Convent across the road. After the war, parishioners rigged up a temporary shelter over the altar so Mass could resume in the church in fine weather.
The rebuilt church was decorated in marble and mosaic, with seven splendid statues carved in the south Tyrol, and magnificent windows by Goddard and Gibbs. The fifteen Rosary windows in the clerestory are thought some of the finest in the diocese.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Caribbean families arrived in increasing numbers, followed in more recent years by families from West Africa. The Traveller community remains a permanent part of the congregation.
Today the Immaculate Heart of Mary and St Dominic is a dynamic, multi-cultural parish whose people honour their patrons with lives of devotion and service.
Main photo: Parishioners at the 150th celebration
Additional photos: Fr Patrick Allsop with Cardinal Vincent, at the consecration, the Union of Catholic Mothers' danced welcome, the specially-designed anniversary cake
