Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs, St Leonards-on-Sea
Encyclopedia
The Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs is the Roman Catholic church serving St Leonards-on-Sea
, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings
in East Sussex
, England. The present church, which combines a plain, unadorned Gothic Revival exterior with a lavishly decorated interior featuring extensive early 20th-century paintings by Nathaniel Westlake
, is the third building used for Roman Catholic worship in the seaside resort. James Burton's new town of 1827, immediately west of Hastings, was home to a convent from 1848; public worship then transferred to a new church nearby in 1866. When this burnt down, prolific and "distinguished" architect Charles Alban Buckler designed a replacement. The church remains in use as the main place of worship in a parish which extends into nearby Hollington, and has been listed at Grade II by English Heritage
for its architectural and historical importance.
, a builder, property developer and speculator. In 1828, he bought a large area of wooded, sloping land (formerly part of the Manor
of Gensing) which had a long shoreline facing the English Channel
. He spent the next few years laying out a high-class planned community with houses, shops, hotels, markets, an Anglican church and facilities suitable for a fashionable seaside resort. Within a few years, it rivalled its ancient neighbour Hastings
in size and popularity.
A Roman Catholic place of worship was soon provided in the growing town. Rev. John Jones, the Honorary Chaplain of the Bavarian Embassy in London, received from the will of Lady Barbara Stanley a bequest of £10,000, 16 acres (6.5 ha) of land and a house in St Leonards-on-Sea, all to be used for "religious purposes" for the benefit of Roman Catholics. He planned to build a convent
for Jesuits
, and extended the house for their use. They declared it unsuitable, and the proposed chapel and convent—large, intricately designed buildings in the Italianate
style, conceived by Charles Parker—were not built. Work on less ambitious Gothic Revival
-style buildings began in 1837, overseen by A.W.N. Pugin, and a newly founded order of nuns—The Society of the Holy Child Jesus—moved in. Pugin started work on a convent chapel in 1848, but it was not completed until 1869 (by his son Edward Welby
) and the convent refectory initially served as a temporary chapel for the sisters and the general public. The permanent chapel was dedicated to St Michael and All Angels.
Relations between the convent sisters and the parish were difficult, and in 1866 a new church was built for public use nearby, after which the convent chapel reverted to private use for The Society of the Holy Child Jesus only. The chosen site, on the west side of Magdalen Road near the convent, was above the east portal of Hastings Tunnel, a railway tunnel near Warrior Square station
. The church was designed by Charles Alban Buckler, a Roman Catholic convert and "one of the most distinguished early to mid-Victorian Roman Catholic architects". It was founded on 21 August 1865 and opened for public worship on 24 May 1866, and was consecrated in 1868 by the Bishop of Southwark
Thomas Grant. Its most distinctive fixture was a large pietà
carved in oak.
The church was destroyed by fire on 3 January 1887. Within two months, a tin tabernacle
had been erected on the site to allow worship to continue while a new church was designed and built. Charles Alban Buckler was again asked to design the replacement church. Construction started on 30 March 1888, although the foundation stone
was laid on 21 July of that year. Builder Edmund Boniface executed Buckler's design, and the new Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs opened to the public on 6 July 1889.
Between 1908 and 1911, Nathaniel Westlake
painted the interior with a range of vivid mural
s depicting scenes from the Bible. Much of this was stencil
led, but the work is unusually extensive and it is unusual for such designs to have survived in churches. Weather damage necessitated repairs in the 1950s, but by 1981 the murals' condition was so poor that whitewash
ing over them appeared to be the only course of action. Enough money was raised for a full restoration to take place; artist Charles Camm was responsible for this.
style-particularly Early English Gothic. His church at St Leonards-on-Sea was a good example of this: typical Gothic exterior features included trefoil
and tall lancet window
s, a multi-sided apse
and buttress
ing. The walls are of ironstone
and Bath Stone
with some irregular rock facing. The plan consists of a nave
with six bays
and vaulted side chapels treated like simple arcades, a chancel
with its own side chapels (all with apsidal
ends), a porch, sanctuary, narthex
and mortuary chapel (a later addition). The building lacks a tower or spire, and the effect from the outside is an appearance "as sparing as a friar
s' church".
The "richly decorated" interior has been described as "unexpected" after this simple exterior. The vividly coloured painted murals, some purely decorative and some representative of Biblical scenes, date from 1908–1911 and have been repaired and enhanced since. Some windows have stained glass
, apparently by Charles Eamer Kempe
and the Clayton and Bell
and Hardman & Co.
firms. Nathaniel Westlake's images include St Michael (in the side chapel dedicated to St George), the English Martyrs and the Hand of God above the chancel arch, various saints and prophets on the chancel ceiling, a Nativity on the south wall and a Last Supper on the north wall. Original fittings include some pews in the nave, a carved organ case, a marble font with carvings depicting the Seven Sacraments, a similar pulpit with images of saints and (in the Lady chapel
) a Bath Stone altar with depictions of the Virgin Mary, Jesus and angels.
on 13 December 2006. This defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 521 Grade II listed buildings, and 535 listed buildings of all grades, in the borough of Hastings. In an architectural survey of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton's churches undertaken in 2005 before the church was listed, it was stated that it was "likely to be listable" in the future. The authors noted that his other churches (at Slindon
, Sutton Park
and the former St Peter's Church
in Shoreham-by-Sea
) were already listed and the interior decoration scheme "[made] it special". It is one of several listed churches in St Leonards-on-Sea: the Anglican churches of Christ Church
, St Peter's
and St John the Evangelist's
are classed at the higher Grade II*, while St Leonard's Anglican parish church, St Leonard's Baptist Church
and the Greek Orthodox
St Mary Magdalene's Church
, along with a former United Reformed Church
, are also Grade II-listed. Pugin's former convent chapel, now disused, also has Grade II* status.
The church is one of two in the parish of St Leonards-on-Sea and Hollington. This is one of five parishes (consisting of seven churches) which make up the Deanery
of St Leonards-on-Sea, which is in turn one of 13 deaneries in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The other church in the parish is the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Hollington, an ancient village which developed in the interwar and postwar eras into a large suburb of Hastings. Wilfred Mangan's Vernacular
brick church of 1934 became part of the parish in 1959 and was extended and reordered internally in the 1980s. There is one other Roman Catholic church in the borough: Our Lady Star of the Sea (1882) in the Old Town
area of Hastings.
Two Masses
are celebrated each Sunday at the church. Confession
is heard weekly on Saturday mornings.
St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonards-on-Sea is part of Hastings, East Sussex, England, lying immediately to the west of the centre. The original part of the settlement was laid out in the early 19th century as a new town: a place of elegant houses designed for the well-off; it also included a central public garden, a...
, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
in East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England. The present church, which combines a plain, unadorned Gothic Revival exterior with a lavishly decorated interior featuring extensive early 20th-century paintings by Nathaniel Westlake
Nathaniel Westlake
Nathaniel Hubert John Westlake was a 19th-century British artist specializing in stained glass.-Career:Westlake began to design for the firm of Lavers & Barraud, Ecclesiastical Designers, in 1858, and became a partner ten years later, making the firm Lavers, Barraud and Westlake, of which he...
, is the third building used for Roman Catholic worship in the seaside resort. James Burton's new town of 1827, immediately west of Hastings, was home to a convent from 1848; public worship then transferred to a new church nearby in 1866. When this burnt down, prolific and "distinguished" architect Charles Alban Buckler designed a replacement. The church remains in use as the main place of worship in a parish which extends into nearby Hollington, and has been listed at Grade II by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
for its architectural and historical importance.
History
St Leonards-on-Sea was conceived and built as a new town by James BurtonJames Burton (1761–1837)
James Burton was a builder and developer, responsible for large areas of Bloomsbury and the houses around Regent's Park in London. He later founded the new town of St Leonards-on-Sea, which is now part of the built-up area of Hastings...
, a builder, property developer and speculator. In 1828, he bought a large area of wooded, sloping land (formerly part of the Manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Gensing) which had a long shoreline facing the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. He spent the next few years laying out a high-class planned community with houses, shops, hotels, markets, an Anglican church and facilities suitable for a fashionable seaside resort. Within a few years, it rivalled its ancient neighbour Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
in size and popularity.
A Roman Catholic place of worship was soon provided in the growing town. Rev. John Jones, the Honorary Chaplain of the Bavarian Embassy in London, received from the will of Lady Barbara Stanley a bequest of £10,000, 16 acres (6.5 ha) of land and a house in St Leonards-on-Sea, all to be used for "religious purposes" for the benefit of Roman Catholics. He planned to build a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
for Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, and extended the house for their use. They declared it unsuitable, and the proposed chapel and convent—large, intricately designed buildings in the Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
style, conceived by Charles Parker—were not built. Work on less ambitious Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
-style buildings began in 1837, overseen by A.W.N. Pugin, and a newly founded order of nuns—The Society of the Holy Child Jesus—moved in. Pugin started work on a convent chapel in 1848, but it was not completed until 1869 (by his son Edward Welby
E. W. Pugin
Edward Welby Pugin was the eldest son of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin and Louisa Barton. His father, A. W. N. Pugin, was a famous architect and designer of Neo-Gothic architecture, and after his death in 1852 Edward took up his successful practice...
) and the convent refectory initially served as a temporary chapel for the sisters and the general public. The permanent chapel was dedicated to St Michael and All Angels.
Relations between the convent sisters and the parish were difficult, and in 1866 a new church was built for public use nearby, after which the convent chapel reverted to private use for The Society of the Holy Child Jesus only. The chosen site, on the west side of Magdalen Road near the convent, was above the east portal of Hastings Tunnel, a railway tunnel near Warrior Square station
St Leonards Warrior Square railway station
St Leonards Warrior Square railway station is one of four railway stations serving Hastings in East Sussex, England. It is on the Hastings Line and the East Coastway Line, and train services are provided by Southeastern and Southern.- History :...
. The church was designed by Charles Alban Buckler, a Roman Catholic convert and "one of the most distinguished early to mid-Victorian Roman Catholic architects". It was founded on 21 August 1865 and opened for public worship on 24 May 1866, and was consecrated in 1868 by the Bishop of Southwark
Archbishop of Southwark
The Archbishop of Southwark is the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark in England. As such he is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of Southwark....
Thomas Grant. Its most distinctive fixture was a large pietà
Pietà
The Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ...
carved in oak.
The church was destroyed by fire on 3 January 1887. Within two months, a tin tabernacle
Tin tabernacle
Tin tabernacles were a type of prefabricated building made from corrugated iron developed in the mid 19th century initially in Great Britain. Corrugated iron was first used for roofing in London in 1829 by Henry Robinson Palmer and the patent sold to Richard Walker who advertised "portable...
had been erected on the site to allow worship to continue while a new church was designed and built. Charles Alban Buckler was again asked to design the replacement church. Construction started on 30 March 1888, although the foundation stone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...
was laid on 21 July of that year. Builder Edmund Boniface executed Buckler's design, and the new Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs opened to the public on 6 July 1889.
Between 1908 and 1911, Nathaniel Westlake
Nathaniel Westlake
Nathaniel Hubert John Westlake was a 19th-century British artist specializing in stained glass.-Career:Westlake began to design for the firm of Lavers & Barraud, Ecclesiastical Designers, in 1858, and became a partner ten years later, making the firm Lavers, Barraud and Westlake, of which he...
painted the interior with a range of vivid mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s depicting scenes from the Bible. Much of this was stencil
Stencil
A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to...
led, but the work is unusually extensive and it is unusual for such designs to have survived in churches. Weather damage necessitated repairs in the 1950s, but by 1981 the murals' condition was so poor that whitewash
Whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a very low-cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk . Various other additives are also used...
ing over them appeared to be the only course of action. Enough money was raised for a full restoration to take place; artist Charles Camm was responsible for this.
Architecture
There is a great contrast between the austere, minimalist exterior of the Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs and its elaborately decorated interior. Architecturally, Charles Alban Buckler was a medievalist who worked almost exclusively in the Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
style-particularly Early English Gothic. His church at St Leonards-on-Sea was a good example of this: typical Gothic exterior features included trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
and tall lancet window
Lancet window
A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural motif are most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures, where they are often placed singly or in pairs.The motif first...
s, a multi-sided apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
and buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
ing. The walls are of ironstone
Ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical repacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron compound from which iron either can be or once was smelted commercially. This term is customarily restricted to hard coarsely...
and Bath Stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
with some irregular rock facing. The plan consists of a nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with six bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
and vaulted side chapels treated like simple arcades, a chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
with its own side chapels (all with apsidal
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
ends), a porch, sanctuary, narthex
Narthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
and mortuary chapel (a later addition). The building lacks a tower or spire, and the effect from the outside is an appearance "as sparing as a friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
s' church".
The "richly decorated" interior has been described as "unexpected" after this simple exterior. The vividly coloured painted murals, some purely decorative and some representative of Biblical scenes, date from 1908–1911 and have been repaired and enhanced since. Some windows have stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
, apparently by Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe
Charles Eamer Kempe was a well-known Victorian stained glass designer. After attending Twyford School, he studied for the priesthood at Pembroke College, Oxford, but it became clear that his severe stammer would be an impediment to preaching...
and the Clayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell
Clayton and Bell was one of the most prolific and proficient workshops of English stained glass during the latter half of the 19th century. The partners were John Richard Clayton and Alfred Bell . The company was founded in 1855 and continued until 1993...
and Hardman & Co.
Hardman & Co.
Hardman & Co., otherwise John Hardman Trading Co., Ltd., founded 1838, began manufacturing stained glass in 1844 and became one of the world's leading manufacturers of stained glass and ecclesiastical fittings...
firms. Nathaniel Westlake's images include St Michael (in the side chapel dedicated to St George), the English Martyrs and the Hand of God above the chancel arch, various saints and prophets on the chancel ceiling, a Nativity on the south wall and a Last Supper on the north wall. Original fittings include some pews in the nave, a carved organ case, a marble font with carvings depicting the Seven Sacraments, a similar pulpit with images of saints and (in the Lady chapel
Lady chapel
A Lady chapel, also called Mary chapel or Marian chapel, is a traditional English term for a chapel inside a cathedral, basilica, or large church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
) a Bath Stone altar with depictions of the Virgin Mary, Jesus and angels.
The church today
The Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs was listed at Grade II by English HeritageEnglish Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 13 December 2006. This defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 521 Grade II listed buildings, and 535 listed buildings of all grades, in the borough of Hastings. In an architectural survey of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton's churches undertaken in 2005 before the church was listed, it was stated that it was "likely to be listable" in the future. The authors noted that his other churches (at Slindon
Slindon
Slindon is a small village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, nestling in woodlands on the southern edge of the South Downs. Slindon lies approximately seven miles north-east of Chichester...
, Sutton Park
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
and the former St Peter's Church
St Peter's Church, Shoreham-by-Sea
The name St Peter's Church has been borne by two Roman Catholic churches in the town of Shoreham-by-Sea in the district of Adur, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex...
in Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea
Shoreham-by-Sea is a small town, port and seaside resort in West Sussex, England. Shoreham-by-Sea railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre and London Gatwick Airport is away...
) were already listed and the interior decoration scheme "[made] it special". It is one of several listed churches in St Leonards-on-Sea: the Anglican churches of Christ Church
Christ Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
Christ Church is an Anglican church in the town and seaside resort of St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
, St Peter's
St Peter's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
St Peter's Church is an Anglican church in the Bohemia area of the town and seaside resort of , part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. Founded in 1883 in response to the rapid residential growth of this part of St Leonards-on-Sea, the "outstanding late Victorian church" was...
and St John the Evangelist's
St John the Evangelist's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
St John the Evangelist's Church is the Anglican parish church of the Upper St Leonards area of St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
are classed at the higher Grade II*, while St Leonard's Anglican parish church, St Leonard's Baptist Church
St Leonard's Baptist Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
St Leonard's Baptist Church is the Baptist place of worship serving St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
and the Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
St Mary Magdalene's Church
St Mary Magdalene's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea
St Mary Magdalene's Church is a Greek Orthodox place of worship in St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
, along with a former United Reformed Church
St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church
St Leonards-on-Sea United Reformed Church is a former United Reformed church in St Leonards-on-Sea, part of the town and borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England...
, are also Grade II-listed. Pugin's former convent chapel, now disused, also has Grade II* status.
The church is one of two in the parish of St Leonards-on-Sea and Hollington. This is one of five parishes (consisting of seven churches) which make up the Deanery
Deanery
A Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a Dean.- Catholic usage :...
of St Leonards-on-Sea, which is in turn one of 13 deaneries in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton. The other church in the parish is the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Hollington, an ancient village which developed in the interwar and postwar eras into a large suburb of Hastings. Wilfred Mangan's Vernacular
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
brick church of 1934 became part of the parish in 1959 and was extended and reordered internally in the 1980s. There is one other Roman Catholic church in the borough: Our Lady Star of the Sea (1882) in the Old Town
Hastings Old Town
Hastings Old Town is an area in Hastings roughly corresponding to the extent of the town prior to the nineteenth century. It lies mainly within the eastern-most valley of the current town...
area of Hastings.
Two Masses
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
are celebrated each Sunday at the church. Confession
Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)
In the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is the method by which individual men and women may be freed from sins committed after receiving the sacrament of Baptism...
is heard weekly on Saturday mornings.