Church of St Mary and St Petroc, Bodmin

Last updated

The Parish Church of St Mary and St Petroc is a congregation of the Roman Catholic Church in Bodmin, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish church is the former monastic church of the Abbey of St Mary, a community of canons regular, whose origins on the site date back to the Middle Ages.

Contents

History

The village of Bodmin (which means "home of monks" in Cornish). A medieval Life of St Petroc describes how it was home to a hermit, St Goran (or Wron), during the early 6th century. In 518 he welcomed the Irish monk, St Petroc, who was seeking to found a monastery in the area, which he did near Padstow. The destruction caused to the monastery in 981 by Viking raiders caused the monks to move their community to Bodmin. [1]

The abbey

The Priory of St Mary was established by the Canons Regular of the Lateran during the 12th century. It grew to become the largest monastic community in Cornwall, but was suppressed on 27 February 1538 in the course of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The buildings of the priory were torn down, with the exception of the priory church, which was converted to the use of the Church of England. [1]

The open practice of the Catholic faith in the town did not become possible again until a Catholic priest, William Young, bought some property in the town and had a Catholic church, with adjoining rectory, built in 1845. The availability of services, however, remained occasional and infrequent until 1881, when the Lateran canons were allowed to return to the region, their first modern foundation in the United Kingdom after the Dissolution, under the authority of the Bishop of Plymouth, William Vaughan. [1]

A small community of the Order was then sent from Italy and re-established the priory under the leadership of Dom Felix Menchini, C.R.L., accompanied by Dom Jean Giraud, C.R.L., and Brother Giovanni Baptista Pastorelli. By 1884, the new community had grown to 20 members, and Menchini was officially constituted as prior and Novice Master of St. Mary’s Priory, Bodmin, as well as Missionary Vicar of the diocese in charge of the Bodmin and Truro missions. [2]

As their numbers and presence continued to expand, the canons took a major role in serving the surviving Catholic population of Cornwall. The community grew, until the house was raised to the status of an abbey in 1953. Construction on a new church to serve the canons and the town had been begun in 1937, but had to be suspended due to World War II and was not completed until 1965. [1] It was built next to the already existing seminary of the English province of the Order. [3] [4]

The parish

When the canons had to close the abbey in 1976, due to dwindling numbers, they gave over the abbey to the Diocese of Plymouth and the complex was made part of the Roman Catholic Parish of St Mary and St Petroc, which covers a large area of North Cornwall. The parish includes churches in Wadebridge, Padstow and Tintagel. [1] The abbatial cloister was converted into private housing. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bodmin</span> Town in east-central Cornwall, England

Bodmin is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Padstow</span> Town in Cornwall, England

Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Wadebridge, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Bodmin and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Newquay. The population of Padstow civil parish was 3,162 in the 2001 census, reducing to 2,993 at the 2011 census. In addition an electoral ward with the same name exists but extends as far as Trevose Head. The population for this ward is 4,434.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dissolution of the monasteries</span> 1536–1541 disbanding of religious residences by Henry VIII

The dissolution of the monasteries, occasionally referred to as the suppression of the monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541, by which Henry VIII disbanded Catholic monasteries, priories, convents, and friaries in England, Wales, and Ireland; seized their wealth; disposed of their assets, and provided for their former personnel and functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Petroc</span> Sub-Roman abbot and saint

Petroc or Petrock was a British prince and Christian saint.

In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing a title which may vary, such as dean or provost.

The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a partly similar terminology. As religious communities, they have laybrothers as part of the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worth Abbey</span> English Benedictine monastic community

The Abbey of Our Lady, Help of Christians, commonly known as Worth Abbey, is a community of Roman Catholic monks who follow the Rule of St Benedict near Turners Hill village, in West Sussex, England. Founded in 1933, the abbey is part of the English Benedictine Congregation. As of 2020, the monastic community had 21 monks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English Benedictine Congregation</span>

The English Benedictine Congregation (EBC) is a congregation of autonomous abbatial and prioral monastic communities of Catholic Benedictine monks, nuns, and lay oblates. It is technically the oldest of the nineteen congregations affiliated to the Benedictine Confederation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth</span> Roman Catholic diocese in England

The Diocese of Plymouth is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in England. The episcopal see is in the city of Plymouth, Devon, where the bishop's seat (cathedra) is located at the Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Boniface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Gregory's Abbey, Three Rivers</span> Benedectine monastery near Three Rivers, Michigan

St. Gregory's Abbey is an American monastic community of men living under the Rule of St. Benedict within the Episcopal Church. The abbey is located near Three Rivers in St. Joseph County, Michigan.

There is archaeological evidence of insular monasticism as early as the mid 5th century, influenced by establishments in Gaul such as the monastery of Martin of Tours at Marmoutier, the abbey established by Honoratus at Lérins; the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel; and that of Germanus at Auxerre. Many Irish monks studied at Candida Casa near Whithorn in what is now Galloway in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire</span> Church in Herefordshire, England

Belmont Abbey, in Herefordshire, England, is a Catholic Benedictine monastery that forms part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It stands on a small hill overlooking the city of Hereford to the east, with views across to the Black Mountains in Wales to the west. The 19th century Abbey also serves as a parish church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Paul's Church, Tintagel</span> Church

The Catholic Church of St Paul the Apostle, in Bossiney Road, Tintagel, Cornwall, England, UK, was built in 1967 and consecrated by the Bishop of Plymouth, Cyril Restieaux, in February 1968. It was originally a mission administered by the Canons Regular of the Lateran based in Bodmin, services being held in the Social Hall, Trevena. It is now administered as part of the Plymouth Diocese and is part of the Parish of Bodmin which consists of churches in Bodmin, Wadebridge, Padstow and Tintagel. Fr. Bryan Storey was priest from 1973 until his death 26 July 2018. He was priest in charge for 45 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Petroc's Church, Bodmin</span> Parish church in Cornwall, England

St Petroc's Church, Bodmin, also known as Bodmin Parish Church is an Anglican parish church in the town of Bodmin, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Cornwall</span> History of Christianity

Christianity in Cornwall began in the 4th or 5th century AD when Western Christianity was introduced as in the rest of Roman Britain. Over time it became the official religion, superseding previous Celtic and Roman practices. Early Christianity in Cornwall was spread largely by the saints, including Saint Piran, the patron of the county. Cornwall, like other parts of Britain, is sometimes associated with the distinct collection of practices known as Celtic Christianity but was always in communion with the wider Catholic Church. The Cornish saints are commemorated in legends, churches and placenames.

The Canons Regular of the Lateran, formally titled the Canons Regular of St. Augustine of the Congregation of the Most Holy Savior at the Lateran, is an international congregation of canons regular, comprising priests and lay brothers, in the Catholic Church. They received their present name from Pope Eugene IV in 1446.

The Deanery of Cornwall is a Roman Catholic deanery within the Diocese of Plymouth. It consists of parishes in Cornwall with the addition of one parish in Devon.

Charles Norris OSB (1909–2004) was a Benedictine monk and dalle de verre stained glass artist who created works for Roman Catholic churches in the UK.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "St Mary's, Bodmin". The Parish Church of St Mary and St Petroc, Bodmin. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  2. 1 2 "The History of St. Monica's Priory, Spetisbury, Dorset: Part 4 The Canons Regular of the Lateran 1887-1907". St Monica's Priory. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  3. ↑ Pevsner, N. (1970) Cornwall, second ed. Penguin Books.
  4. ↑ Dyer, Peter (2005) Tintagel: a portrait of a parish. Cambridge: Cambridge Books ISBN   0-9550097-0-7; p. 119

50°28′09″N4°42′56″W / 50.4692°N 4.7155°W / 50.4692; -4.7155

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.