A church that invites you in

It is over 180 years since Fr William Crook obtained a room at the White Hart Inn on Holywell Hill to say Mass for the people of St Albans. Since then the Catholic Community in St Albans has grown tremendously.  As a community, our forebears have built schools, halls, churches and a presbytery. All of these, along with the parish life that accompanied them, are testament to the faith and vitality of the parishioners who made brave decisions, not simply for themselves, but for the generations to come. Its now our turn to build for the future and to create a parish complex fit for purpose.

Our challenges

In recent years, we have faced a number of challenges:

• The transfer of the parish from the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart to diocesan clergy; the pandemic; a changing demographic, and high levels of inflation
• Balancing the books but by underinvesting in the fabric of the buildings
• Using legacies well, by doing more than repair and maintain and by imitating our predecessors willingness to build for the future

Our vision for the future of this parish

A key moment in our building back after the pandemic, was the Parish Assembly of 2021. It gave us the opportunity to reflect on the quality of our Welcome, Worship and Witness. Among the pastoral priorities that emerged was the establishment of a group to consider how the parish buildings might better serve our life and mission. In particular, the development of a more welcoming environment where visitors and newcomers might feel more readily at home.

This group looked at different options, and have proposed a three phased programme of development, keeping a number of basic principles/challenges in mind:

• The need for catechetical spaces
• The need for sustainability and greater energy efficiency
• The need for improved accessibility for the disabled and less mobile
• The need for a more versatile presbytery which could respond easily to any parochial restructuring

Phase 1 Creating a more welcoming environment for visitors and parishioners

Aimed at facilitating our gathering before Mass and our socialising afterwards Phase 1 will involve the refurbishment of the forecourt and grounds at the front of the Church and the enlargement of the Church Porch. These works will involve:

Phase 2 The redevelopment of the Presbytery

Initially we had hoped it would be possible to demolish the current presbytery and rebuild it as a series of units, some of which would be rented to key workers at a subsidised rate. The likely costs were prohibitive so we are now working towards a significant refurbishment which would:

• Address immediate health/safety and maintenance issues
• Improve the energy efficiency of the building
• Create two purpose-built meeting rooms for parish catechetics
• Deliver a clear separation between the priests’ living quarters and a modernised suite of parish offices

Phase 3 Refurbishment of the Sanctuary, re-decoration of the Church & cleaning of the Church Organ

The extension of the Church porch will involve the loss of seating towards the back of the church which will need to be recovered towards the front of the church. A rethinking of the current sanctuary will be necessary and will be undertaken once Phases 1 & 2 are well underway and we are clear about the resources at our disposal. That said, it is most likely that the font – currently located towards the back of the church – will be relocated somewhere on the sanctuary and that any new seating towards the front of the church will be in the form of chairs rather than benches. This will allow greater flexibility and be more suitable for the less mobile who have difficulty with the benches.

• We will use recent legacies to support the proposed works, but we also need to raise additional funds.
• Delivering Phases 1 and 2 calls for us to raise at least £500,000. With your support, we aim to start the work early next year.
• We are asking every parishioner to consider supporting this capital appeal, whilst maintaining their current offertory contributions to the continuing work of the church.
• We do not know, nor will we enquire about, people’s financial circumstances, but we do know that every pledge of money, either as a regular monthly contribution or as a one-off gift, will count.
• If you are a taxpayer you can gift aid what you give each year as long as you have paid enough tax to cover the gift-aided amount.
• A pledge is not legally binding. It can be cancelled at any time.

Every pledge, and every donation will matter. £500,000 is an ambitious target.

Make a pledge and set up a standing order

We are asking all our parishioners to consider pledging a monthly amount over and above their usual Sunday offering and to do so for a period of five years. The Table of Pledges below shows what your pledge might mean to you on a weekly basis and what it would mean to the Building Fund Appeal after five years. Pledge forms are available by clicking the button below.

Making a one-off donation or one-off donations over the course of the next 5 years

You may prefer to make a one off donation rather than setting up a standing order. If so, our account details are:

Bank: HSBC-69 Pall Mall
Account name: WRCDT St Albans
Sort Code: 40-05-20
Account No: 21094696

Please specify alongside the transaction some reference information , for example, ‘BF – <SURNAME AND INITIAL>’

If you do not have, or would prefer not to use internet banking, then you could issue a cheque made out to WRCDT St Albans. Your cheque should be accompanied with a note saying that is a donation to the Building Fund Appeal.

Our parish priest, Fr Michael O’Boy, launched The Building Fund Appeal on Sunday 17 September 2023. Below is a copy of the text which was used on this occasion.