Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Wokingham

Corpus Christi Catholic Church
51°24′31″N0°49′45″W / 51.408583°N 0.82909432°W / 51.408583; -0.82909432
Location	Wokingham
Country	England
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	https://corpuschristi-wokingham.org/
History
Status	Active
Founded	14th November 1970

Corpus Christi Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in Wokingham, Berkshire. The church was completed in November 1970, and is located on Sturges Road in Wokingham. ^[1] It is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth. ^{[2] [3]}

History

Catholicism returned to Wokingham in 1904, with just a handful of Catholic families and no dedicated church. ^[4] Mass was initially held by Fr. Doran from Bracknell at the “Welcome Inn” on Peach Street. That same year, Dominican Sisters arrived, renting space in the Market Place (now Edinburgh Woollen Mill Shop), where Mass was also celebrated. Their convent included a converted stable chapel.

On 14 May 1911, Fr. Doran blessed the newly established Corpus Christi Church. Fr. John Connolly served as parish priest from 1916 to 1947, followed by Fr. Zollo (1947–1954) and Fr. Maurice Wallace (1954–1984). Under Fr. Wallace, the current church was built and opened on 14 November 1970 by Bishop Derek Worlock. Despite illness, Fr. Wallace lived to see the church completed and paid for before passing away in 1984.

From 1984 to 2002, Fr. Keenan expanded parish involvement with programmes like the Baptismal Course and school-based Eucharistic preparation with children from the Saint Teresa's Catholic Academy, located nearby. He died in 2002 after a battle with a brain tumour. His successor, Mgr. Jim Joyce, oversaw the construction of the Keenan Rooms before retiring in 2015 due to health reasons. ^[5]

From 2015 to 2019, Fr. David O’Sullivan led the parish, continuing its growth and mission. He moved to Wantage in 2019 where he remains the parish priest. Since 2019, Canon Simon has been the parish priest, along with Deacon Ben. ^[6]

In 2024, Sister Thérèse, one of the Dominican Sisters, aged 90 at the time, returned to a Dominican convent near Toulouse, France. A special mass was held at the church with approximately 250 people attending. ^[7]

Parish

The church has three Sunday masses, one on Saturday at 5:30pm, and two on Sunday at 9am and 11am. ^[8] Throughout the rest of the week, there are morning and evening masses on most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. ^[9]

References

1. "Directory". Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. Retrieved 2025-06-19.^{[ dead link ]}
2. "Find a Parish". Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth. Retrieved 2025-06-19.^{[ dead link ]}
3. GENUKI. "Genuki: Corpus Christi, Wokingham, Roman Catholic, Berkshire". www.genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
4. "Corpus Christi Church, Wokingham". 2 October 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
5. "Corpus Christi, Wokingham". www.taycliff.com. Retrieved 2025-06-07.
6. "Corpus Christi". www.st-teresas.wokingham.sch.uk. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
7. "Sister Thérèse bids farewell to Wokingham after 60 years in the town". Wokingham.Today. 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2025-06-07.
8. "Roman catholic church near me, Corpus Christi, 60 Sturges Road, Wokingham, Berkshire, England". www.catholicclocks.com. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
9. Christi, Corpus. "Corpus Christi". Corpus Christi. Retrieved 2025-06-07.