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.
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
Fr Peter Hapgood-Strickland has been appointed as our new parish priest. He will take up his appointment on Monday 26th October. He writes:
I was brought up in Kent and moved to Blackburn after serving as an Anglican curate in Canterbury diocese. In 1990 I became a vicar in Blackburn and after 7 years moved to Burnley so I am no stranger to East Lancs and I love its beautiful countryside. In 2019 I was received into the Catholic Church spending time in Bolton, Ramsbottom and latterly Denton. I enjoy cooking and eating and I have two dogs who are people friendly. I will be sad to leave the people of the parish of the Holy Family in Denton and the garden but look forward to meeting you all and working with you in your part of God’s vineyard.
May God bless you all,
Fr Peter
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.
Fr Peter takes over as parish priest from Monday 26th October. Weekday Mass times change from that date at both churches, so please check the new timetable rather than relying on the usual pattern.
Confessions at St Joseph’s resume with a new Friday slot, 8:45am to 9:20am, from Friday 30th October. Confession times at St Anne’s are unchanged.
My time as your Parish Priest draws to a close this weekend. I want to thank you for your kindness to me during my five years in Accrington. I cannot thank you enough for the privilege of serving here as your Parish Priest. To anyone I may have upset, I am sorry and ask your forgiveness.
Please pray for me as I take up my duties at Holy Family, Denton, and for Fr Peter Hapgood-Strickland, who follows me here. Rather than a final goodbye, I prefer to say: until we meet again — in St Thomas More’s words, merrily in heaven.
— Fr Francis
The Knights of St Columba are about to begin their Centenary Year, and we will mark the occasion at all the Sunday Masses on the weekend of 24th/25th October. It will be a fitting way to close Fr Francis’s ministry here in Accrington.
If you have ever thought about joining the Knights, please give it prayerful consideration and help them to continue their good work.
If any parent/carer of a year 5/6 child would like a personal tour of the school, please contact Susan Fielding on 01254 233458.
As we are currently full or oversubscribed in all year groups, we strongly advise parents who want a place for their children to put us down as first choice or it is unlikely that you will be awarded a place.
Deadline for applications is Saturday, 31st October. All applications are to be made online.
If your child is a baptised Catholic, please let school have a copy of their baptism certificate to ensure that they are placed in the correct admission category.
Fr Robert Pytel, the chaplain to our Polish community, will be celebrating Mass on Sunday, 1st November at 1pm in St Anne’s Church.
Confessions will be heard before Mass.
Our next meeting will be on Monday 2nd November. We will be going to Mr Gatty’s Tea Room.
Meet on St Anne’s church car park at 12:30pm for lunch at 1pm.
Saturdays: 11am-11:45am & 4:45pm-5:15pm
Fridays: 8.45am-9.20am
Saturdays: 11am-11.45am
| 11am | Exposition & Confessions at St Anne's |
| 12 noon | Mass at St Anne's |
| 4:45pm | Confessions at St Anne's |
| 5:30pm | Vigil Mass at St Anne's |
| No Mass at St Joseph's |
| 9am | Mass at St Joseph's |
| 11am | Mass at St Anne's |
| No Masses |
| 9:30am | Mass at St Joseph's |
| No Mass at St Anne's |
| 9am | Mass at St Anne's |
| No Mass at St Joseph's |
| 6:30pm | Mass at St Anne's |
| No Mass at St Joseph's |
| 8:45am | Confessions at St Joseph's |
| 9:30am | Mass at St Joseph's |
| No Mass at St Anne's |
| 11am | Exposition & Confessions at St Anne's |
| 12 noon | Mass at St Anne's |
| 4:45pm | Confessions at St Anne's |
| 5:30pm | Vigil Mass at St Anne's |
| No Mass at St Joseph's |
| 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.
Parish Priest
Rev Fr Francis Wadsworth
Parish Administrator
Mrs Siobhan Wood
Tel: 01254 232 920
Office Hours
Mon: 8:30am to 12:30pm
Tues, Thurs: 8:30am to 1:30pm
