Monks Kirby - Roman Catholic Community

Roman Catholic Community

There is also the Catholic St Joseph's Church, built in the 1990s to a design by the architect, John Holmes.This church was consecrated by Archbishop Bernard Longley (Archbishop of Birmingham) on 11 July 2012, which is the feast of St Benedict. The Church is to a modern design but has a traditional and homely feel.

The cemetery on the outskirts of Monks Kirby is a Roman Catholic burial site, originally a private graveyard for the Feilding family (the family of the Earls of Denbigh, many of whom practice Roman Catholicism following the conversion of the 8th Earl in 1850). Today the Catholic cemetery is used for burials from St Joseph's.

St Joseph's continues to be a vibrant worshipping community today. A daily Mass is celebrated (in Church or at Mater Ecclesiae) and a large congregation gathers on Sunday from the parish which spreads well beyond the small village of Monks Kirby. There is an active children’s liturgy group and a very lively Union of Catholic Mothers Group.

Children from the Parish attend the Revel School, which is possibily unique in that it is a Church of England school with Catholic provision and Catechesis. Children from the school regularly visit the Church for worship and are prepared through the school for their First Holy Communion.

Within the parish (at Street Ashton) is the convent of The Congregation of Mater Ecclesiae. This is a religious community for older woman who have a late vocation to the religious life. Masses and pastoral visiting also takes place at St Marys Nursing Home and Ben Town Thornes which are situated in the parish.