The History of St Catherine's Church in Wimborne
Legend has it that a small chapel dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria existed on the same site as the current church and was referred to in historical references in 1660 as being east of the minster in an acre of land known as Streats Mead. In the Middle Ages a small Chapel dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria existed on the same site as the present Church.
St Catherine was born around 287 in Alexandria, Egypt and became a Christian at age 14. Her remains are said to be in a crypt in a monastery dedicated to her at the foot of Jebel Musua (the Mountain of Moses). Although accounts vary, the fact remains that today there is still a monastery dedicated to St. Catherine at the foot of Jebel Musa, which was built at the beginning of the sixth century by the Emperor Justinian. In the centre of the monastery (which housed six to seven thousand monks in the first centuries of Christianity and three to four hundred during the Middle Ages) is the Church. Inside, near the central altar, is the "Crypt of St. Catherine".
According to local tradition, during the reign of Maximinus, she left Alexandria in Egypt and retreated to a rocky valley in Sinai. There, Catherine devoted her life to God and managed to escape Caesars persecution. When Emperor Maxentius began persecuting Christians, Catherine visited him personally to denounce his cruelty. Catherine was arrested and tortured, and was eventually executed because of her faith in around 305. Approximately three centuries later some Sinai monks, in response to a dream, found her body on the mountain. It was reverently transferred to a golden casket in their Church.
Presbytery, wooden church and hall in 1926
Presbytery, and present church
The Catholic Church in Wimborne has been active in an unbroken line since 350 A.D. Right through the Reformation, Mass continued to be said daily at Canford and Stapehill within the parish boundary. In 1914 Wimborne’s catholic community was served in St John's Temperance Hall and later in various houses, including what is now the flat above Long John’s Fish and Chip shop. A presbytery and wooden church and hall were built on newly acquired land in 1926. The church was named St Michael the Archangel, but unfortunately, by 1933 the wooden buildings were in a poor state of repair. The stone building of St Catherine's Church replaced it.
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The foundation for our present church was laid in June 1933. The opening of the Church took place in November 1933, with the first Mass being celebrated here on Christmas Eve. Inside, there is an interesting stained-glass memorial window dedicated "to the greater glory of God and in memory of the Rt. Hon. James Radcliffe 3rd Earl of Derwentwater and his wife Anna Maria daughter of Sir John Webb Bart of Canford in this parish, where the faith was kept alive during the Penal Times Feb.24th 1716 R.I.P." The Earl of Derwentwater, who was executed for his part in the 1715 Rebellion. The stained-glass window was designed and made by Paul Woodroffe (1875-1954) whose most significant work was 15 windows in the Lady Chapel in St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York. The next major build was the church hall, completed in 1984. The original porch of the new church did not have a bell tower. It was added in 1936 and adds an air of completeness to the whole building.
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There is an ancient "link" also between the holy city of Rome and Wimborne. The Church "Santo Spiritu a Sassia" which stands on the site of a former hostelry, a house for pilgrims instituted in 726 A.D. by King Ina of Wessex, cherishes a picture of the Madonna thought to have belonged to King Ina. This same monarch donated land to his sister, St. Cuthberga, for the founding of Wimborne Minster in 713 A.D.
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In 705 A.D. St Cuthburga, sister of King Ina of Wessex, founded in Wimborne one of the largest monasteries in England. There were two monasteries, one male, the other female, both ruled over by the Abbess. St Cuthberga had been brought up in court and married Alfrid, King of Northumbria, from whom she parted by mutual consent so that she could enter religious life.
Under her determined rule, the monastery gained an international reputation. St Cuthberga her sister and Saints Lioba, Wulpurga and Teela, all near relatives, were also directly associated in the new foundation. St Boniface from Crediton in Devon, who brought Christianity to Germany drew many of his helpers from the Monastery at Wimborne, including St Lioba, who together with Boniface were both martyred at Fulda some years later. The letters from St Boniface to the Wimborne Monastery are now at the British Museum, and they relate to how much Boniface owed the Wimborne Monastery in the conversion of Germany. It is suggested that Christianity in Germany owes its foundation to Wimborne.
Rudolph of Fulda in 836 A.D. wrote: “Wimborne was a foundation of the Kings of the English, surrounded by high walls and supplied sufficiency of income; one a monastery of clerics, the other an order of women.” According to Anglo Saxon chronicles, the monastery was destroyed by the Danes in late 10th to early 11th century.
Parish Priests
Up to 1927, when the Cistercians of Stapehill ceased to serve the Catholic community in Wimborne, there would have been gaps in the provision of a priest by the diocese. However, from 1927 onwards, there has been a continuous flow of Parish Priests right up to the present time. The roll call includes the following:-
Canon Michael Burns 1927-31
He was appointed Provost of the Cathedral Chapter.
Fr. John Haslip 1931-1940.
Born 12 July 1886 and died 4 March 1958. He studied in Leeds Seminary and was ordained as a Catholic priest on 29 June 1924. He served at Lanherne, Devonport, Exeter on the Bishop's staff, Okehampton and Chagford, Cullompton, Wimborne, Peverell & llfracombe
Fr. Patrick Lynch 1940-1945.
Born 4 November 1907, retired in 1973 and died 15 August 1977. He studied at the All Hallows Seminary, Dublin, and was ordained on 25 June 1933. He served at Torquay, Sidmouth, Devonport, Wimborne, Barnstaple and South Molton.
Fr William Harper 1945 -1951.
He was ordained at Beda, Rome, as a convert on 3 May 1931 and died on 1 February 1951. He served in Torquay, Kingsbridge and Wimborne.
Fr. Patrick O'Leary, Feb-April 1951. Born 14 April 1922, retired to Ballonagh in 2001 and died 13 November 2006. He studied at All Hallows Seminary, Dublin, and was ordained 23 June 1946. He served at Falmouth, llfracombe, Torquay (having moved there from Wimborne), Exeter, Lynton and Bridport, where he retired.
Fr Francis McGuiness 1951 -1957. Born 9 January 1916, died 8 August 1975 and buried at Lulworth Cemetery. He studied at All Hallows Seminary, Dublin and was ordained 25 June 1939. He served at Teignmouth, was Chaplain to evacuated children 1941-42, then Torquay, Barnstaple, Wimborne, Budleigh Salterton and Lulworth & Wool.
Fr Martin Molloy 1957 – 1974.
Born 9 November 1900, retired to Wyke Regis in 1974 and died 31 March 1987. He studied at St Patrick's Seminary, Carlow and was ordained 13 June 1926. His ministry included Plymouth (Keyham), Saltash, Kingsbridge, Plymouth (Beacon Park) and Wimborne. He was reputed to enjoy horse racing and drove a Jaguar of which he was very fond. In his time, St Catherine's Primary School was built in Colehill.
Fr John Day 1974 – 1980.
Born 16 May 1912, died 31 March 1980 and is buried in Wimborne Cemetery. He was ordained at Beda, Rome as a convert on 25 March 1950. His ministry included Torquay, Weymouth, Lynton, Bideford, Broadstone and finally Wimborne. A scholarly man, he had been a schoolteacher before his first ordination.
Fr M Joseph O'Brien 1980-1986.
Born 19 June 1912 and died 9 January 1987, buried at Buckfast. He was ordained at Beda, Rome as a convert on 8 April 1950. He served at Plymouth (Keyham), Torquay, Marnhull & Gillingham, then Plymouth (Crownhill) and Helston, The Lizard and Mullion, Dorchester, St Ives, Torquay and then Wimborne in 1980. He was a much-loved priest. He spoke fluent German and good Spanish and was the prime mover behind the building of the church hall in 1983. He and his German colleague, the priest at Ochsenfort, established the twinning of Wimborne and Ochsenfort.
Fr Keith Collins 1986 – 2005.
Born 18 January 1932. He studied at Oscott Seminary and was ordained on 19 March 1957. His ministry has included the Plymouth Cathedral, Dorchester, Bishop's Secretary at Plymouth (Vescourt), Weymouth, Axminster, back to Weymouth, Exeter, Wimborne and finally to Broadstone in 2005. He served as the Episcopal Vicar for Education for many years.
Canon Kenneth Noakes 1996-97 as assistant priest, then 2005-2018 as priest. Born in 1943 he was ordained as priest in the Church of England serving in Gloucester diocese, at Pusey House, Oxford, and in Truro diocese. He became a Catholic in 1994, and after formation at Wonnersh was ordained at St Mary's, Poole, in 1996. He was the parish priest at Broadstone 1997 -2005 and then at St Catherine's. He was a Natural Sciences Scholar at Trinity College, Oxford, reading Biochemistry then Theology, following his MA with a D Phil in Paschan Theology. His interests include cricket and jazz.
Fr Paul Keys 2018 – 2023.
Born in 1964 and brought up in Windsor. He studied Theology at Bristol Uni studying Victorian attitudes towards Islam. After various employments, including a Careers Advisor, he studied at Wonnersh Seminary, ordained in 2013, served parishes in Poole/Purbeck, then became Wimborne parish priest in 2018. In 2023 he became the parish priest at Bodmin. He loved walking and cooking.
Fr Darline Joseph Marianathan 2023 - to present.
Born in 1978 and ordained in 2006, he became parish priest of Okehampton and Chagford in 2011 before moving to St Catherine's Wimborne in 2023. He has a new role in the diocese, helping with clergy well-being and teaching student priests. He is a practising Counselling Psychologist & Psychotherapist and holds an MSc Psychology of Education (BPS) from Bristol University and MSc Psychology from Exeter University. In India, he has an MSc in Psychology and three bachelor's degrees in economics, theology and philosophy. He is a member of various national and international professional bodies and has published several books and written over 100 short articles in local newspapers.
(Taken from history by Bill Kennedy)