The Diocese

The Parish of St. Felix in Felixstowe is in the Diocese of East Anglia formed on March 13th 1976 and covering Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. The Cathedral Church is St. John The Baptist in St. Giles Gate, Norwich. The Bishop resides in the village of Poringland on the outskirts of Norwich.

The Deanery

The diocese is divided into seven deaneries. St Felix Parish in Felixstowe is a member of the Ipswich Deanery which also comprises the four Ipswich parishes, Aldeburgh and Woodbridge. The Dean is Fr John Barnes, Parish Priest of St. Felix in Felixstowe. The parish boundaries include Felixstowe, Walton and the Trimley villages.

A Brief History of St Felix Parish, Felixstowe

The last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century in Felixstowe was a period of intense building activity, both public and private including the Orwell Hotel in 1896 and the town railway station which opened in 1898. In June 1899, the first resident Catholic priest, Father William Cooper, was appointed. There was no church, only a bare plot of ground in Gainsborough Road, purchased for the erection of a church some four years earlier for the sum of £488.

The young Father Cooper, barely thirty, said his first Mass in Felixstowe on Sunday 9th July 1899 in Mr Tiani ‘s lce Cream Parlour in Orwell Road, with a congregation of six! Father Cooper immediately set about erecting a tiny chapel, now the site of the present presbytery. The congregation soon outgrew this chapel, and from 1905, plans were made for a permanent church. After much discussions the various difficulties were finally resolved, and the foundation stone of the new building was laid in February 1911. The church was officially opened with great solemnity on 31st July 1912.

To the original sanctuary and nave, there were later additions of a sacristy and side chapels in the 1930’s, but it was not until 1958 that the church was finally completed by the addition of the baptistry and porch and an entrance in keeping with the inscription over the main door – Haec est Domus Domini – “This is the House of the Lord”. Surmounting the inscription is a statue depicting St. Felix in whose honour the church is dedicated. The church contains a collection of stained glass by the well-known firm of Hardman, and also modern glass by the artist Tom Denny.

A long felt need in St. Felix Parish was for a suitable Church Hall in place of the existing inadequate building. That need was fulfilled when in July 1988, Bishop Alan Clark blessed the new hall which has become the centre of so many activities, not only of the parish but of the local community.

 

More information on St Felix church is available at Suffolk Churches.

ST FELIX FELIXSTOWE PARISH PRIESTS

1899 – 1918      William Cooper
1918 – 1942      Hugh Parker
1942 – 1943      Michael J.Geraghty
1943 -1945       Ernest Garnett
1945 – 1961       Cyril Banham
1961 – 1966       John Reffitt
1967 – 1975       Augustine Berrell
1975 – 1985       Dennis Brophy
1985 – 1993       Peter Leeming
1993 – 2007      John McNally
2007 – 2014      David Hennessy
2014 – 2024      John Barnes
2024 -Present  Michael Smith