LONDON - 10 January 2008 - 440 words
The Real Eastenders
Greg Watts
Most parishes histories are rather timid, anodyne affairs that tend to airbrush out embarrassing episodes. But this can't be said for the story of St Mary and St Michael's in Stepney, in the heart of London's East End. Here we have a cast of characters and a plot line every bit as sensational as a TV soap.
It's all here: priests imprisoned for their faith; the arrival of Irish immigrants; attempts by the temperance movement to empty the pubs; Protestant extremists and the Gordon Riots; the cholera epidemic of 1866; workhouses; Cardinal Manning's intervention in the dock strike; the mission of the Sisters of Mercy; battles with secularists over Catholic schools; Oswald Moseley's black shirts; and the Blitz.
The parish also has a history of colourful ecclesiastical disputes. In the nineteenth century a row over liturgy erupted. Then in the twentieth century the parish priest sued the Catholic Herald.
More recently, in 2006, parish priest Father Francis Van Son took Westminster diocese to the High Court in an attempt to block its plans to redevelop Bishop Challoner Girls School on some disused parish land. He lost, as he had done when he had appealed to the Vatican, and he swiftly departed.
When the current church, situated on Commercial Road, was built in the middle of the nineteenth century to replace the chapel in Virginia Street, it was to have a 250 feet spire to complement it's cathedral-like size. But by the time it had reached 40 feet, the money ran out.
I have to confess I was completely unaware that, at one time, you had to pay for a seat at Mass. In the nineteenth century, admission to St Mary and St Michael was a penny. However, if you went to High Mass, it was double the price.
Some of England's most illustrious Catholics have been associated with the parish, among them Father Ignatius Spencer, Blessed Dominic Barberi, Father Bernard Vaughan and Father Vincent McNabb.
And its former parish priests include Father Peter Amigo, who later became Archbishop of Southwark, Bishop Patrick Casey, and Monsignor Derek Worlock, later Archbishop of Liverpool.
In the Sixties, the parish had five priests. But they didn't always see eye to eye. When a curate discovered the parish finances were in a mess, he told Monsignor Worlock that they needed to have an urgent discussion. Worlock then calmly leafed through his diary, looked up and offered him an appointment months down the line. The curate exploded and stormed out.
The current parish priest Father Jim Mulligan is a very approachable man, and he has no desire for the purple, I suspect. He is what's known in ecclesiastical circles as an under-5, having only been ordained two years ago, following spells odd jobbing in various countries and a career as a journalist and English teacher (he has also penned a novel, Angel of Laodicea, published in 1999).
To produce this excellent 360-page book, he brought together historian Jean Maynard, Terry Marsh, the only professional British boxer to retire as an undefeated world champion, and businessman Con Donovan.
The result is not just a vivid history of the parish but also of Catholic life in the East End. More than that, it is a timely reminder that while the Church might be holy, it is also a very human institution.
A History of St Mary & Michael's Parish, priced £20, is available from the parish. Phone 020 7790-5911 or e-mail: commercialroad@rcdow.org.uk
All proceeds go towards the restoration
of the church.
© Independent Catholic
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