St Anne's & St Joseph's RC Parish

——  Accrington • Diocese of Salford  ——

St Anne's & St Joseph's
RC Parish

—  Accrington • Diocese of Salford  —

Resurrexit sicut dixit. Alleluja!

He is risen as He said. Alleluia!

Pope Francis RIP

1936 – 2025

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, the 21st April, at the age of 88. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

O God, faithful rewarder of souls, grant that your departed servant Pope Francis, whom you made successor of Peter and shepherd of your Church, may happily enjoy for ever in your presence in heaven the mysteries of your grace and compassion, which he faithfully ministered on earth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever, Amen.

A Few Words About Us

It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to the website for St Anne’s and St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Parish. As you look around the site you will find a snapshot of parish life—what we do and who we are. Here you will find our weekly newsletters, Mass times, news, events and much more.

St Anne’s and St Joseph’s is an active and welcoming parish in Accrington, Lancashire. We are served by our Parish Priest, Father Francis Wadsworth, and retired priest Father Robert Livesey.

The present church of St Anne was begun in the 1920s, the foundation stone was laid 11 October 1924 by Bishop John Vaughan and it was opened by him 24 May 1925 at a cost of £10,000.

The parish of St Joseph was established in 1949 after the Second World War. Construction of the church began in June 1950 and was opened for worship in 1954. The parish of St Joseph was merged with St Anne’s in 2017.

Mass is celebrated daily at one or both of our beautiful churches details of which can be found in the weekly newsletter or the Mass Schedule panel above.

If you find yourself lingering on our website, don’t just bookmark it. Come along and join us in person to pray, serve and strengthen the bonds of real community! We look forward to seeing you soon.

Fr Francis Wadsworth
Our Parish Priest

Sacrament of Confirmation

On Thursday 3rd July we will welcome Bishop John Arnold to St Joseph’s church to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation.

If you are a young person in Year 8 or above and would like to be confirmed this year, you are invited to take part in our programme of preparation. To register, please see Fr Francis as soon as possible.

The schedule of meetings is as follows:

Monday 19th May – Meeting for Students and Parents

Monday 2nd June – Meeting for Students

Monday 9th June – Meeting for Students

Monday 16th June – Meeting for Students

Monday 23rd June – Meeting for Students

Monday 30th June – Meeting for Students

Sessions take place at St Anne’s presbytery. The first meeting, on Monday 19th May, will be at 7pm. Times for other meetings to be confirmed.

The story of a boy at a non-Catholic primary school who hears about the apparitions of Our Lady in 1858 in Lourdes. He maintains an interest that is boosted in high school by the opportunity to go to Lourdes himself. His first trip there continues his journey—a journey of faith that leads him to becoming a Catholic and culminates with his ordination to the sacred priesthood. This is the story of Fr Francis Wadsworth, our parish priest.

St Anne's and St Joseph's School

As parish priest and chaplain to St Anne’s and St Joseph’s Primary, I am delighted to share with you this video clip of our wonderful school. The enthusiasm and joy on the faces of the children is palpable. The only way to experience the school is to pay us a visit. You would be most welcome. Better still, choose to send your child to St Anne’s and St Joseph’s RC Primary.

Donations

The traditional weekly offertory collection is one way in which you can support the parish financially. An easier modern alternative is to use a standing order, which allows you to make regular donations directly from your bank account, and has the advantage that you will not have to worry about having the right amount of cash every week. If you have online banking you can set this up online, or you can download and complete this standing order form and post it to your bank or hand it in at the parish.

You can also make donations using the Dona card machine located near the collection baskets in St Anne’s church. This digital collection plate supports both contactless and Chip & PIN payments and you can opt to Gift Aid your donation. You can also make a contribution online by using our Dona webpage. Please use the button below.

Notices

Latest Announcements

Latest Items

Altar prepared for Mass

Changes to Services on Saturday

There will be no midday Mass, morning confessions or Exposition at St Anne’s on Saturday, 3rd May.

The Vigil Mass at St Anne’s remains the same.

Elevation of the Eucharistic Bread against a background of the outline of Poland in the colours of the national flag

Polish Mass

Fr Robert Pytel, the chaplain to our Polish community, will be celebrating Mass on Sunday, 4th May at 1pm in St Anne’s Church.

Confessions will be heard before Mass.

Quiz Night 5

Parish Quiz

On Sunday, 4th May, in St Joseph’s Church Hall, we will be running another parish quiz.

7:30pm Start · £1 Entry per Person
Teams of up to 6 People
Spot Prizes · Snowball Questions

Cash Prize for Winning Team

Please bring your own refreshments to share with other teams.

Come along, test your knowledge and have a bit of fun too!

St Anne's Centenary

St Anne’s Centenary

This year we celebrate 100 years of the opening of St Anne’s Church. It would be lovely if we could mark this event in some way.

If you would like to contribute to the planning of a celebration then please come to a meeting in the Marian Room at St Anne’s on Tuesday, 6th May at 6pm.

This meeting is open to parishioners from both our churches.

Friendship Group Logo

Friendship Club

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, 7th May. We will get together at Oswaldtwistle Mills for a meal. Entertainment will be provided by Louis Devere who is, we are told, noted for his joie de vivre! It should be a great afternoon out.

We are still desperately in need of volunteer drivers to bring members to the meeting each month and take them home again afterwards. If you can help, please let Siobhan know so that she can pass on your details.

Rest in Peace Notice

Requiem Mass

We offer our condolences to the family of Patricia (Pattie) Sloan who has died.

Requiem Mass will take place at St Anne’s Church on Thursday, 8th May at 10am.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord.

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Latest Blog Posts

Latest Posts

How to Go to Confession

A Lourdes Miracle

Our Lady of Lourdes

May he rest in peace

Confessions

St Anne's

Saturdays: 11am-11:45am & 4:45pm-5:15pm
No morning confessions on Saturday 3rd May

St Joseph's

Saturdays: 10.30am-11.30am

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

St Anne's

Saturdays: 11am-11.45am
No Exposition on Saturday 3rd May

Mass Schedule

Saturday 26th April

Easter Saturday

12 noon Mass at St Joseph's
5:30pm Vigil Mass at St Anne's
No Exposition, confessions or midday Mass
at St Anne's. Confessions at St Joseph's
after the Mass at noon.

Sunday 27th April

Divine Mercy Sunday

9am Mass at St Joseph's
11am Mass at St Anne's

Monday 28th April

St George

9am Mass at St Anne's
9:30am Mass at St Joseph's

Tuesday 29th April

St Catherine of Siena

9am Mass at St Anne's
9:30am Mass at St Joseph's

Wednesday 30th April

St Pius V

9:30am Mass at St Joseph's
No Mass at St Anne's

Thursday 1st May

St Joseph the Worker

9am Mass at St Anne's
No Mass at St Joseph's

Friday 2nd May

St Athanasius

9:30am Mass at St Joseph's
No Mass at St Anne's

Saturday 3rd May

SS Philip & James, Apostles

10am Mass at St Joseph's
5:30pm Vigil Mass at St Anne's
No Exposition, confessions or midday Mass
at St Anne's

Sunday 4th May

3rd Sunday of Easter

9am Mass at St Joseph's
11am Mass at St Anne's

Churches

St Anne’s, Cobham Road,
Accrington, BB5 2AD.
Tel: 01254 232 920

St Joseph’s, Belgarth Road,
Accrington, BB5 6AH.

Priests

Rev Fr Francis Wadsworth (parish priest)
Rev Fr Robert Livesey (retired)

Parish Administrator

Mrs Siobhan Wood
Tel: 01254 232 920

Office Hours

Mon: 8:30am to 12:30pm
Tues, Thurs: 8:30am to 1:30pm