Parish History

Who we are:
The Parish of St Francis de Sales & St Mary Magdalene.

We are a parish with two churches, two presbyteries, two parish gardens and a parish hall with an average attendance of 300 people who serve the People of God in Wolverton and Stony Stratford.

The parish of St Francis de Sales and St Mary Magdalene has been served by Father Bernard Barrett since 1995. If you’re new to the area, or want to know more about our parish, reach out to Fr Barrett who would love to speak with you.

Overview of the History of the Parish

The parish of St. Francis de Sales & St. Mary Magdalene has its origins in the Catholic Church’s two-fold response to the Act of Catholic Emancipation and the Industrial Revolution - which enabled the Restoration of the Catholic Hierarchy (1850) and which gave us the thriving Railway town of Wolverton by 1860.

sfds.jfif — Official Parish Boundaries 1883

The parish boundaries extend to Aylesbury to the South, Buckingham to the West, Olney to the East and Pottersbury to the North.

It was the heart of a mission to proclaim the fullness of the Gospel and to minister to Catholics living in this wide field.

With the arrival of the Third Millennium, Wolverton stands to the North of the new town of Milton Keynes and because of the above mission, the other parishes of Milton Keynes came into existence so that the Parish of St. Francis de Sales is rightly called the mother church of the Catholic churches in Milton Keynes.

The 19th Century gave us the First Vatican Council (1870), whilst the 20th Century gave us the Second Vatican Council (1963-65) and both these councils have formed the character of St. Francis de Sales.

Brief Timeline

As early as 1836 Wolverton had been selected as mid-point between the London-Birmingham railway line. Wolverton was just a little village, but by 1860 it had become an important railway town and according to Local Historian Sir Frank Markham, it was thriving. During its development Catholics in Wolverton were served by a Priest from Aylesbury or they had to walk to Weston Underwood for Sunday Mass (9 miles away). It is clear that as early as 1844 pastoral care was being extended by the church at Weedon to ‘Wolverton Station’.

The 19th Century gave us the First Vatican Council (1870), whilst the 20th Century gave us the Second Vatican Council (1963-65) and both these councils have formed the character of St. Francis de Sales.

1864-1884

Fr. Francis Cambours arrives in 1864 and within a short time raises £1,000 towards the establishment of the ‘Mission’.

Fr. Blackman replaces Fr. Cambours and builds presbytery and church. The Church opened on Trinity Sunday 1867; although original accounts refer to it as a school. The total cost was £855. Eventually, an old organ (200 years old) was acquired from Northampton Cathedral

The Presbytery was built in 1871. A large amount of the cost, between £200-300, was donated by Sarah Dunn, the housekeeper to the priests between 1865-1884. Priests were expected to be fit and energetic as they rode on horses to cover Aylesbury, Buckingham, Hockcliffe and Leighton Buzzard.

A Society of Vincent de Paul group (SVP) was set up in Wolverton in 1884; a mere 50 years after the original Paris group was formed by Frederick Ozanam (died 1853). The essence of the Society is to see Christ in those in need.

St Francis de Sales

No clear reason why St. Francis de Sales (Patron of Writers and Journalists) was chosen.
However, 1867 was the Third Centenary of the saint’s birth, and he was noted for his Preaching and missionary work.

1902 - 1948

Fr. Garnett installs new altar and antique oak reredos or screen. In the reredos are statues of St. Gregory the Great, St. Peter, St. Paul and St. Thomas Becket. The lower statues depict St. Francis de Sales and St. Edmund the Martyr (Fr. Garnett’s Patron saint). Fr. Garnett begins the diaries that now have become a tradition for Parish priests to continue and make up the archives of the Parish. Clear indications of good relations with other Christians in the parish diaries; Ecumenism starts early in the Parish.

Entries in the parish diaries of only Mass counts and collections; little information about how the First World War affected parishioners. But records speak of Fr. Walker tending Catholics who were among the Belgium refugees and the soldiers who attended Easter celebrations in 1915.

World War II took its toll, with Wolverton men serving in many branches of the armed forces. The local regiment, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry played decisive and heroic roles in the 1939 BEF landings and Dunkirk embarkation. (See the role of honour in St. George’s Anglican Church).

New stained-glass windows installed as a memorial to parishioners killed on active service in World War II; they were made by Catholic artist Earnest R. Twining of Joseph Bell & Son. — New stained-glass windows were installed as a memorial to parishioners killed on active service in World War II; they were made by Catholic artist Earnest R. Twining of Joseph Bell & Son.

1954 - 1977

Fr. Wilf Johnson was parish priest of Wolverton. In 1954, he began the building of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Stony Stratford which was completed in 1957 and blessed on 25th September 1958. He moved to Wellingborough where he stayed until his death.

Fr. Paddy Connolly became parish priest of Wolverton In 1973 he moved to Stony Stratford which was now a parish in its own right.

Wolverton came under the CRIC fathers - Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception. As resident priests in Wolverton, they began their mission to the New City of Milton Keynes that was in the process of being built. Thus the parish of Wolverton continued to serve as the Mother Church from which many of the new churches in Milton Keynes were built, supported, or supplied.

1979 - 1995

Fr. John Koenig moves from Wellingborough where he was a curate to become, for the first time, parish priest of St. Francis de Sales. Wolverton was un-clustered to return to parish status.

At last, the Church of St. Francis de Sales was consecrated by Bishop Charles Grant on Wednesday 23rd September 1981. Fr. Richard Moroney moves from St. Elthebert’s in Slough where he was curate to become for the first time parish priest of Wolverton.

Fr. Bernard Barrett moves from Wellingborough where he was a curate to become, for the first time parish priest of St. Francis de Sales.

1998 - 2002

In 1998, asbestos was removed from the walls of the Church and Fr Bernard commissioned an artist, Peter Yourell, to paint a mural on the Sanctuary wall.

The design and theological content were worked out between the Artist and Fr. Bernard P.A. Barrett. Mr. Paul Gleeson (Art Teacher at St. Paul’s School) was commissioned to paint a Jubilee painting for the porch.

New marble for re-construction of the altar from the Reardos was completed and installed by Milo Molloy. Mr. Paul Gleeson was commissioned to paint panels for the back of the altar.