Llandudno Catholic Church - North Wales UK

Provost Ratcliffe (Parish Priest 1906 to 1920) Dean Mulligan's place was taken by Canon Ratcliffe from Bangor. He was born in Lancashire in 1852 and while quite young boy came under the influence of the late Dean Mulligan, who probably had quite a lot to do with his decision to enter the Priesthood. As a boy of 12 years he went into college to begin his long course of training. He completed his studies at Ushaw and was ordained in 1874. He worked in many Parishes - Morley Hill, Shrewsbury, Hyde, Dukinfield, Oswestry and Stockport, but his longest ministry was in Bangor where he had stayed for fifteen years. He worked hard to improve the efficiency of the school and served on the School Board, where he fought hard with great skill and determination for the rights of Catholic children. He also took a keen interest in training the choir.

As Parish Priest in Llandudno he continued the work on the Church building by the addition of a Sacristy, High Altar, and Altars to Our Lady and St. Joseph. He had the plain stone pillars carved, the roof timbered and a pulpit installed. The statue of Our Lady over the Lloyd Street entrance porch was erected about this time, through the generosity of a private donor. All this and he still managed to reduce the debt by more than a thousand pounds! A tidy sum in those days!

He was appointed Provost of the newly formed Menevia Chapter in 1909. In 1919 he welcomed the Loreto Sisters from Manchester to Llandudno and looked forward to the opening of a good school. He invited the Superior to take charge of the Children of Mary in the parish and also asked that the Sisters instruct adults and children.

Provost Ratcliffe died on May 21st 1920. There was a very large gathering at the Church to celebrate his Requiem Mass, most of the congregation coming from Llandudno and district, but there were also present many people from other parts of the country who had known and loved the Provost. The choir came over from Bangor especially as a tribute to the great work he had done in forming, building up and training choirs during his years in Bangor. He was buried in St. Tudno's Cemetery on the Great Orme.

In reply to a request from the Superior of Loreto Convent, Moss Side, Manchester, for a Loreto Foundation in Llandudno, his Lordship Bishop Francis Mostyn wrote, on 30th. November 1918, "I should be very pleased to allow you to open a house there and feel certain that you would succeed there and do untold good". With such encouragement, plans were made to purchase Eithinog and a group of nuns from Loreto Convent, Moss Side, moved in on 3rd. September 1919 and were welcomed by the Parish Priest, Provost Ratcliffe.

The School opened on 21st. September 1919 with approximately 25 boarders and 15 day pupils, including 3 boys. Events moved quickly - more accommodation was required - Clifton Lodge came on the market and was purchased in October 1920. By 1922 the two houses were linked by the Concert Hall and three large classrooms and formed the fine frontage we still see on Abbey Road. In 1924, thanks to the generosity of Sr. Imelda Fairclough's parents, the Convent Chapel of the Holy Family was built and was solemnly opened and consecrated by Bishop Francis Mostyn on 2nd July 1925. By 1931, the building of the Novitiate was completed and the Novices moved from Moss Side to Llandudno.

The increasing number of pupils, boarding and day, necessitated the building, at the rear, of further residential accommodation, cloakrooms and specialist rooms for Art, Music and Science. By 1946 the third house, Bronmeillion, was finally acquired and opened as a Junior School.

With further extensions and the raising of the roof of the original building, spacious classrooms and extra bedrooms were provided. With the building of the large Science Lab. by 1951 and the Domestic Science Room by 1956 the main school building was nearly complete, but numbers required more classrooms, so two prefabricated buildings were put up in 1965.

The lawns in front of the School were the only areas for Games, but in 1930 a hen-run on the opposite side of Abbey Road was purchased and converted into Tennis / Netball Courts. Hockey was played on the Oval once a week until the quarry adjoining Eithinog was purchased from the Mostyn Estate and made into a much needed Hockey and Sports Field.

In 1921, Loreto invited H.M.lnspectorate to visit the School. The small school was inspected and recognised as efficient. Formal recognition of Loreto Convent Boarding and Day School as an "Efficient, private, non-grant-earning Primary and Secondary School for pupils with an age range of 3 -18 years" was given by the Ministry of Schools, on 1st December 1948. A further General Inspection in 1956 reported the school 'excellent' in every way.

Great attention was always given to the teaching of religion and the celebration of the Liturgy and Sacred Music. The annual visits of the Diocesan Religious Inspectors resulted in very good reports and great praise of Staff and Pupils - always with words of encouragement and appreciation added by Bishop Daniel Hannon and his successor Bishop John Petit.

With the re-organisation of schools in Llandudno in 1970, the main part of the building was used as a Middle School. The Community lived in the Bronmeillion block. As the Convent Chapel was no longer needed it was dismantled by 1974 and its furnishings sent to other poorer churches. The Novitiate building, after the Novices moved out, was used for Retreats, Charismatic Groups and Christian Family Weeks, and gradually the Retreat Centre evolved and provided the facilities for students and adults, Religious and Clergy, various Renewal Programmes, Marriage Encounter, Prayer and Counselling programmes.

The Middle School closed in 1987. In response to many requests for private retreats, a massive refurbishing and restoration of Clifton Lodge was undertaken to provide en-suite rooms, group rooms and kitchens for those making private or directed retreats. The Hall is the venue for many Diocesan / Deanery / Parish day events. Eithinog is the Provincialate and Convent for the Second Community and Ignatian Outreach.

Loreto continues to serve the church as a retreat and conference centre.

Canon Francis Xavier Thompson (Parish Priest 1920 to 1937)

The Very Revd Canon Francis Xavier Thompson was the next Parish riest to take up the responsibility of adding to the beauty of the church whilst at the same time trying to reduce the debt - which still stood at £1000. Various events were held to meet expenses - Whist Drives - Dances - (at the Arcadia and at the One Ash Hotel) - and Bazaars. Canon Thompson said "The Church was built for the accommodation and comfort of visitors, and it is confidently hoped that visitors will respond generously to this appeal for the clearing off of the remaining debt".
(The debt at that time was £500).

They did respond magnificently by wiping off another £100, and then one of the Parishioners, Signor Gicianto Ferrari, made a handsome donation of £400 and cleared the debt completely. With the Church free of debt the way was now clear for some more improvements to be undertaken. Each year some specific work was tackled. Electric light was installed in the body of the church in 1922 and exterior repairs and painting attended to. In 1923-24 the appearance of the Church was quite altered by the panelling of the Sanctuary ceiling and side aisles and complete interior decoration. 1924-5 saw the building of the much needed new organ and the installation of an electric Kinetic blower. After this came extra seating, repairs to the High Altar and side Altars and extensive repairs to the roof of the Church and Sacristy.

Canon Thompson was also determined that his predecessors should be honoured with a lasting memorial in the Church and he set about organising collections and events for this fund. After a lot of hard work he had sufficient means to install the two beautiful windows behind the High Altar, one of Saint Patrick and the other of Saint Thomas, in honour of Patrick Mulligan and Thomas Ratcliffe. In 1922, the first Nuptial Mass took place in the church when Harry Longworth married Minnie Breeze. Canon Thompson was born in Dolgellau in 1876 and was ordained at St. Bueno's by Bishop Mostyn in July 1900. He had worked in Flint, Brecon, Talacre and Connah's Quay,where he was Parish Priest for 9 years, before coming to Llandudno in 1920. He had never been robust and in 1937 he resigned on account of ill-health and became Chaplain to Loreto Convent. He celebrated his last Mass on February 13th 1955, and he died in Sandford Nursing Home on the 18th of that month. His body lay in the Convent Chapel until the 20th., when the Requiem was celebrated by the Bishop of Menevia in Our Lady Star of the Sea, He was buried in St. Tudno's Cemetery on the Great Orme.

Canon Frederick Furniss (Parish Priest 1937 to 1943)

He had the burden of the war years to contend with when the greatly increased congregations owing to the influx of Civil Servants moved from London and the presence in town of American troops lead to a very heavy workload. Canon Furniss resigned in 1943 through ill health and died in 1956. He is buried in Pantasaph Cemetery.

Canon Austin Pozzi (Parish Priest 1943 to 1971)

Canon Pozzi knew Llandudno well; he had been curate to Provost Ratcliffe in 1912. He was born in Welshpool in 1885 and was ordained by Bishop Mostyn in 1908. He served in Flint, Bangor, Saltney and Holywell before returning to Llandudno, in 1943 to replace Canon Furniss.

A great occasion for the church occurred in 1947 when The Most Revd William Godfrey, Apostolic Delegate to Britain consecrated Bishop Petit as Bishop of Menevia. There was a great procession from the Town Hall to the Church and the Papal Flag flew over the Town Hall, alongside the Dragon of Wales and the Union Flag.

Canon Pozzi’s great ambition was to build a Catholic School for the children of the area. This eventually saw fruition when he laid the foundation stone of the 'Stella Maris' Primary School on April 24th 1960. Declining numbers had brought the closure of the Convent School and its building was adapted for a 'middle school' in 1970.

Over the years he had seen the membership of the Church grow to more than 1600, and he had also seen closer co-operation between the different Churches in the town. He took a keen interest in the general affairs of the town, and was well known for his support for any project beneficial to the people of Llandudno.

Vatican II recommended great changes in the Liturgy, including the use of the vernacular, enabling the congregation to participate more fully in the celebration of the Mass. After the familiar format of the Latin Rite, English seemed a very poor substitute, until it was realised that a greater involvement in the Liturgy brought its own rewards and an even greater appreciation of the beauty of the Mass. At this time more ecumenical services were being held in the town and Canon Pozzi played a prominent part in supporting joint services with the other Churches.

Canon Pozzi died on May 20th.1971, aged 85 years. The vast congregation numbered nearly 500 at his Requiem which was celebrated by the Rt. Rev. Dr. J.E.Petit, the Bishop of Menevia, the Rt. Rev. Langton Fox, Auxiliary Bishop of Menevia, Monsignor Cashman, Provost of the Menevia Chapter, and Monsignor Rees, Shrewsbury. The Rev. J.Calvin Thomas, Chairman of Llandudno Council of Churches, the Rev. Trevor O.Evans, Vicar of Llandudno and many Clergy and Ministers of other Churches of the town were present, as also were representatives of the Loreto Convent in Llandudno and other Loreto Convents.

Canon Pozzi's 'little children' played a prominent part in the service, as was to be expected. The Choir was made up of approximately 100 boys and girls, and the Lessons and Bidding Prayers were read by the children. Those who were not involved in the actual service formed a guard of honour when the coffin left the Church. Canon Pozzi always had a sincere and enthusiastic interest in everything appertaining to the School. He delighted in his frequent visits to the classrooms - disrupting them, yes, but revelling in the spontaneous greetings from the children. A tribute to Canon Pozzi from the teachers of the School at that time reads:-

        "School, to Canon, was alive, colourful - an exciting experience.
         The Staff were his friends,
         The activity was his tonic,
         The laughter was his exhilaration,
         The happiness of the children was his fulfilment.
         School was his heaven on Earth".

Canon Pozzi was buried with his predecessors in the grave in St. Tudno's Cemetery on the Great Orme.

Canon John O’Donovan
(Curate at Llandudno 1958 to 1971 & Parish Priest 1971 to 1982)

Like his colleague and predecessor in ministry, he was closely involved in all aspects of Catholic education in Llandudno.

One of the highlights of his Ministry here was the Consecration of the Church on November 4th 1980 by the Bishop of Menevia, Dr. Langton Fox. Although the Church building was 80 years old, it had never been consecrated – it was 'dedicated' at the time of opening. Plans had been made for some time for this Ceremony to take place, but the deaths of Canon Pozzi and of the former Bishop of Menevia, Dr. J.E. Petit, meant that the consecration had to be postponed.
In accordance with the directives on the Liturgy (Vatican II) the Celebrant was now to face the congregation and so a new altar was installed in the Sanctuary. This altar is a memorial to the late Canon Pozzi. After anointing and consecrating the altar, having placed the Relics therein, the Bishop was led to the Baptistery to bless it and the Baptismal water, after which he consecrated the walls of the Church and blessed the congregation.

Father O’Donovan brought the Paschal Candle into the Church and from it all the other candles in the Church were lit. In his address to the congregation Bishop Fox gave a brief outline of the history of the Parish, recalling the time when Roman Catholics in Llandudno were very few indeed. Dean Mulligan had initiated the building of the Church and had welded all local Roman Catholics into an active congregation, and since that time the story had been one of sustained growth both in the Parish and also in the field of education.

After 24 years at Llandudno, Canon O’Donovan left in 1982 for vital work in Llanelli in South Wales before returning to Ruthin as Parish Priest of Our Lady Help of Christians.

The Parish Schools:

Stella Maris School -Ysgol Seren y Mor
Loreto Middle School
Blessed William Davies School -Ysgol y Bendygaid William Davies.

The Foundation Stone of Stella Maris Primary School was laid on 24th. April 1960 by Canon Pozzi, in the presence of Bishop Petit and a large crowd of Parishioners. In his address the Bishop spoke of his deep feelings of gratitude to Almighty God that "we meet here today to lay this Foundation Stone. Your prayers and your work have borne fruit after a very long time of waiting". He went on to thank publicly all those who had made the building of the school possible, especially Canon Pozzi who had never lost heart even in the most difficult times, and all the Parishioners who had devoted so much time and effort to raising £24,000 towards the total cost of the school, which would be about £45,000. He pointed out that the whole amount must be met by the Church, as no grant would be received towards the capital cost.

The School opened in September 1961 with Mother Consiglio as Head Teacher and a staff of four teachers. Within a few years the number on roll grew to approximately 300 pupils and the school building had to be extended to accommodate the extra scholars. The school gained such an excellent reputation for the Religious Education, academic progress, and cultural and sporting activities of the pupils that the increased numbers on roll indicated the need for re-organisation.

It was decided, therefore, in 1970, to make Stella Maris into a First School for children up to 9 years of age, and to open Loreto Middle School for boys and girls of the 9 -13 years age range, with the hope that in time the age range would be 9 -16 years. The Middle School in Abbey Road was housed in the complex formed by Eithinog - Main Hall - Clifton Lodge, which had been part of the Loreto Convent Boarding and Day School.

For seventeen years this new 'Loreto Middle School' (incidentally the only Middle School opened in Wales) served the educational needs of young people aged 9 -13 years from Llandudno as well as Llandudno Junction/Conway and Penmaenmawr Parishes. For the time of its existence it had a reputation of good academic standards and cultural and sporting activities, and was a significant influence in the faith formation of the young people. Many were the efforts by School and Diocese to have it extended to cater for children up to 16 years of age, but the decreasing population meant that the numbers never existed to justify this extension.

In 1987 the decision was made to close the Loreto Middle School and open a school for pupils of 4 - 11 years in the Stella Maris Buildings. Because of legal requirements the name of the new school had to be different from the other two existing schools. This re-organisation came at the same time as the beatification of the English and Welsh martyrs. Among them was our local priest, Blessed William Davies, and it was decided as exceedingly appropriate to name the new school after him. It was a great joy that on the occasion of the beatification ceremony His Holiness Pope John Paul II gave a personally signed blessing to the new school.

Mr. W.T. Morgans, who had been Headteacher of loreto Middle School throughout its existence was appointed Headteacher of the new Primary School. He retired in July 1992. A good school, like other institutions, marches on its nourished feet! This has been done for Stella Maris School and Blessed William Davies School through the dedicated service of Mrs. June Hughes, who has been in charge of catering from the time the schools were opened in 1961.

In 1982, on the appointment of Canon O'Donovan to be Parish Priest of Llanelli, Canon Matthew J.Kelly, who was then Parish Priest at Holywell, was appointed to succeed him. History repeats itself! Canon Pozzi had left Holywell for Llandudno, Canon Kelly had succeeded him by one remove in Holywell, now he succeeds him by one remove in Llandudno! Also, it was a return to Llandudno for Canon Kelly who had been ordained Priest in the Loreto Convent Chapel here in 1963.

Since 1982 there have been a number of changes in the Church and parish life. A complete redecoration of the Church was done in 1986; the baptismal font was brought to the sanctuary area and the old baptismal chapel turned into a 'quiet room'. To match the new baptismal font, a new ambo was also installed and in order to integrate the altar into the new installations a new frontispiece in matching stone was affixed to the altar. All these additions are in stone matching the original stonework in the Church. One of the Loreto Sisters designed the symbolic incisions of a Dove on the font, an Eagle, on the ambo and a Pelican feeding its young on the frontispiece. The Lady Chapel was adorned with a beautiful new statue of The Madonna and Child, carved in Italy from a single block of wood.

In 1988 Canon Kelly celebrated the Silver Jubilee of his priestly ordination and on this occasion was named a Prelate of Honour by His Holiness Pope John Paul II, with the title of Monsignor.

In 1990, the 70 year-old organ in the Church had come to its life's end. After faithful and valiant service it had to be replaced. We had the good fortune to discover that a chapel in Bangor no longer needed the organ serving that Chapel and it was purchased and re-built in Our Lady Star of the Sea.

Given all the demands on the parish over the years - the building of the Church, the Presbytery, the new (Stella Maris) School, then Loreto School, the re-organisation to create Blessed William Davies School, - the Parish had never managed to acquire a Parish Hall or Meeting Rooms. In 1988 the large house immediately opposite the Church - ' Gowerdale ' - came on the market and this was purchased at a cost of £85,000 and refurbished and re-decorated at a further cost of £40,000 in order to create a Parish Centre. What a boon this has been to the Parish, but also to the whole comunity since the Centre is used by all the Parish organisations and inter - denominational groups as well as other social groups from the town. [Gowerdale was totally refurbished in 2002 as a joint Parish and Diocesan Centre and given the name 'Stella Maris'].

In 1992, the Parish was host to the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio, Archbishop Luigi Barbarito, when, he formally visited the Diocese. As part of that visit His Excellency concelebrated Mass with the Bishop and Priests of the Diocese, with most of the Religious Women and Men of the Diocese and a large congregation present.

Great changes have happened in the life of our Parish in the last 100 years; greater changes will, no doubt, happen in the next 100 years! It is good to be able to record that the life of the Parish is keeping pace with the many changes in the Church which have taken place over that period - very notably since the Second Vatican Council. We can be extremely grateful to all those who have handed so much on to us; our great responsibility is to enhance that giving, so that in 100 years' time our contribution to the life of the Parish can be noted and acknowledged.

To Monsignor Kelly came the great joy of the centenary celebrations of 1993.

The above history was originally written and published as an illustrated booklet to mark the centenary and to which Monsignor Kelly wrote this preface:

The life of a parish and its people over a long period of 100 years can hardly be contained in a booklet of 40 or 50 pages. So much goes on in the lives of people, births, marriages, deaths, which changes the whole of their lives, that all could not be recorded. This is, however, what makes the life of a parish - awareness of the ministry of people to each other, of the priest to people, through the events of their lives. All the richness, all the sadness, all the joys, all the pains and all the worries, being the stuff of life, cannot be recorded in the written word.

However, there are events, people, situations which can be noted and recorded and which give us a taste of what goes on in a parish over a long period. This little booklet has no pretensions to be a detailed history of the parish for the past one hundred years; but reading through it will, I hope, give a flavour to the richness of life that the parish has been able to maintain, support and develop over the past one hundred years.

The remarkable foresight of Dean Mulligan in building this beautiful church for so few Catholics, as the booklet will indicate, has to be admired. People still congratulate us very often on the "beautiful church" we have. Please God, the beauty of the lives of people nourished in this house of prayer, will continue to be admired over the next century.

I am deeply grateful to Mrs. Margaret Amiel and Sr. Madeline Dunphy, who have laboured tremendously in order to put together this booklet. Their researching, their compiling, their sorting, has given us something we can be proud of as a souvenir of the centenary of the building of our church. I am grateful too, to all those who have loaned material, photographs, cuttings, which enabled us to build up this picture of our parish life, and to the Advertisers whose contribution has made the production of this booklet possible. Please God, this centenary celebration of our church will be an occasion for all of us to rejoice gratefully in what has been handed on to us. Over the next year we hope to commemorate this event by renewal of the life of the parish.

We have already made a very significant concrete manifestation of our gratitude. As a souvenir of our centenary, the parish collected £15,000 in order to build a clinic in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to stand as a permanent memorial to our centenary celebrations. This was by way of recognising that we in Llandudno belong to the universal Church and our care is for our parish and the world in which we live. May we rejoice in this time of celebration and commit ourselves to a renewal of our faith so that we may have something worthwhile to pass on to those who will celebrate the second centenary of our church in 2093.

Relationships between the Churches in Llandudno, always very respectful, have developed greatly with the establishment of Cytûn – Churches Together in Llandudno. Ministers of the many churches in the district serve as President of Cytûn for a year at a time and Fr Antony Jones was President in 2001/2. Increasingly the Christian Churches in Llandudno and District work closely together in the their service to the people of this place.

Saint Tudno’s Church. In May 2003, the Revd Jane Allen (Curate of the Llandudno Church in Wales Parish) was inducted as President of Cytûn –in Saint Tudno’s Church on the Great Orme. The ancient Church of Saint Tudno continues to serve the Christian Community in Llandudno, even 1,500 years after Saint Tudno’s most successful Mission to the ancient people of this place.

Blessed William Davies. The three hundredth anniversary of the martyrdom of Father William Davies occurred just days before the dedication of the present Llandudno Church in August 1893. Much later, in 1987, the re-organisation of the parish schools occurred at the time of the Beatification of the English and Welsh Martyrs. Among them was our local priest, Blessed William Davies, and it was decided as exceedingly appropriate to name the new school after him. It was a great joy that on the occasion of the beatification ceremony His Holiness Pope John Paul II gave a personally signed blessing to the new Catholic Primary School.

SECTION 3

The Next Hundred Years