The parish of St William of York, Stanmore recently unveiled two new icons in its sanctuary funded by the Growing in Faith initiative. The icons are of the Church’s namesakes, St William of York, and St Catherine of Siena, chosen to represent the historic links that the parish has with the Dominican sisters.
A dozen Dominican sisters from Bushey and other communities attended the dedication of the icons painted by Rachel Sim. As part of the service, Sister Raymunda Jordan OP spoke about the life and example of St Catherine as the inspiration for the order.
The mission in Stanmore was founded in 1938 but people first gathered for Mass in the local Dominican convent. As the congregation swelled in number, Sunday Mass had to be moved into the school next door which was run by the Sisters to the Convent. The completion of the ‘new’ church in 1960 established the modern day parish of St William of York.
