A parish is thriving against the odds in England’s ‘wild west’
Fishermen were the first disciples called by Jesus, according to the Gospels, and that example inspires those serving coastal communities today. Fr Philip Dyson has been running the Holy Family parish in the far west of Cornwall for 12 years. The “wild west”, as he likes to call it, may be famous for shipwrecks, smuggling, Poldark and stunning scenery, but looking after four flourishing congregations is anything but a holiday.
Fr Dyson zips between the mother church in Penzance; Sacred Heart and St Ia in St Ives; and St Joseph’s in Hayle to celebrate Mass at the weekend. Also part of the far-flung parish is Our Lady, Star of the Sea, in St Mary’s, one of the Isles of Scilly. Along with an endless round of marriages, baptisms and funerals, it makes for a busy, sometimes hectic life. But Fr Dyson wouldn’t have it any other way. “I am a Yorkshireman, and my mother brought me up with the attitude that if something needs doing, then get on and do it,” he said.
The congregation comprises mainly farmers and fishermen, with a good smattering of retirees. During the summer months, Mass attendance doubles to 600 as families pour in to Cornwall to enjoy the sun, sea and sand.
Fr Dyson’s efforts have been rewarded with his appointment as honorary canon by the Bishop of Plymouth. The announcement came during a service led by Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark. celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Penzance (pictured).
Priests from across Cornwall and Devon came for the celebration, in which Fr Peter Morgan, of St Austell, was also named a canon of Plymouth Cathedral. Clergy from other denominations, including Truro’s Anglican cathedral, also attended.
To echo its history down the decades, the choir sang the Te Deum, in honour of the first communities, which also sang the Te Deum when the church was opened.
Fr Dyson said his appointment was an honour for the parish and a tribute to the work that it does. “In many ways, we are an unusual parish, with sea on three sides. Our geography is both a joy and a challenge.”
The development of thriving Catholic communities this far west, in a notoriously non-conformist, even anti-Catholic society, is itself something of a miracle. It all began in 1840, a decade after Emancipation, with the arrival in Penzance of Fr William Young, a Dublin priest from a family of wealthy wool merchants who became a member of the French missionary order, the Missionary Oblates of the Immaculate Virgin of Mary.
The town was an unlikely prospect, with barely a dozen Catholic families. Yet Fr Young was inspired to build a magnificent Pugin-style church, which was, and still is, the largest in Cornwall. It could not have been completed without a gift of 10,000 francs from St Eugène de Mazenod, founder of the Oblates, as well as other donations from France. Irish reformer Daniel O’Connell also made a substantial personal gift, as did other Irish benefactors.
Anne Shipman, who has written a history of the parish, said: “Our church is peopled by a cast of colourful characters, including saints, sinners and shipwrecked sailors. The church opened on October 26, 1843 with a High Mass attended predominantly by Protestants. Conversions soon followed, and Penzance grew rapidly with the coming of the railways, bringing in more Catholics.”
Its survival was fragile in those early years and was nearly lost in 1848 when another of the Oblates, Fr William Daly, mortgaged it to buy a property in Derbyshire as a haven for clergy fleeing the civil tumult in France.
This venture failed. Bailiffs seized the church, which was only saved at the eleventh hour when the Bishop of Plymouth stepped in and bid £4,950 for it at auction.
Today the parish is thriving, and recently raised £250,000 for the completion of the first phase of a major renovation programme, including the installation of two new windows depicting the luminous mysteries of the rosary, as promulgated by Pope John Paul II, and which sit beside existing Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries in glass.
The parish has a strong musical tradition, encouraged by Fr Dyson, including hosting a biennial music festival.
Like many coastal areas, west Cornwall is not without its challenges, particularly relating to drugs, alcohol and mental health. But these are not new to Fr Dyson, who spent most of his career serving in Somers Town, Euston, a deprived part of London at that time.
Fr Dyson said: “Cornwall is a poor county, and work for young people in the west is scarce. Many go away to college and don’t come back. The work that is available can be seasonal and weather dependent.” Parishioners are involved in supporting the community through food banks, street pastors and breakfast projects.
For Fr Dyson, loneliness is one of the biggest problems facing society today. He worries about its impact on the young. Sadly, he has dealt with a number of sudden deaths involving young people recently. This has not shaken his faith but strengthened it.
“They are always very sad, but the deaths of young people make me more convinced than ever that this is not the end. There is something more to come,” he said.
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