St. Peter-in-Chains - Doncaster at Chequer Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN1 2AA UK - Diocesan History of Hallam - Part Two

The Side Altar

The Padley Martyrs We have more detailed accounts of two other local priests, Robert Ludlum, born near Sheffield, and Nicholas Garlick, a former Tideswell schoolmaster. The agents of Lord Shrewsbury arrested Ludlum and Garlick at the Padley Manor House of Sir Thomas Fitzherbert. Padley, which had become a centre of Catholic influence in the High Peak, was like a small castle, surrounded by moorland and thick woods. It is said the two were arrested whilst offering Mass and were executed on the 24th July 1588 on Derby Bridge, together with Richard Simpson, a fellow priest. Some 350 years later, the manor house was purchased for the Diocese of Nottingham by Mgr. Charles Payne in 1933 and is now jointly used as a pilgrimage shrine by the dioceses of Hallam and Nottingham. The two Priests were declared venerable in 1891 and were beatified in 1929. Persecution of the Recusants By the end of the 16th century the Catholic Church was reduced to a small number of resiliant lay people grouped around gentry who managed to support a "Massing Priest". Such families in our region included the Annes of Frickley and Burghwallis, the Fitzherberts and the Eyres of Hassop, the Reresbys at Thrybergh and the Mores at Bamborough. This latter family were descended from St Thomas More, through his son, John. Thus although the Catholic population grew steadily during the 17th and 18th centuries, they were legally obliged to practise the Faith in secret. "Recusants" as they were called, often married discreetly before a priest and witnesses - if a priest could be found! There really was a shortage of priests in those days and we read of some missioners being obliged to hear up to 600 confessions! Although the children of the wealthy were educated in France or Belgium, often by Religious Communities, Catholic schools in England were rare, small and clandestine. Indeed our own diocese boasts a good example. Jesuit Fathers ministering and teaching at Spinkhill during the 17th century under the protection of the Pole family were eventually able to establish Mount St. Mary's College in 1842. From White Sheets to Gothic Churches Gradually, under the patronage of Catholic nobility, centres of worship grew up. Worksop Manor had come into the possession of the Howard family who were Dukes of Norfolk. Hathersage and the villages of North Derbyshire had substantial numbers of Catholics. In the Sheffield area the faith was maintained by the Revell family at Stannington. At Nethergate Hall, the home of the Revells, it was the custom when Mass was to be said for a white sheet to be hung on a certain bush as a signal to Catholics in the countryside. Slowly, circumstances began to change, and the story of St. Marie's is a good example. In 1701, Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, sent his agent, John Shireburn, to live in Cambridge Street. He first built a hidden chapel there and when he moved to the "Lord's House" at the comer of Fargate and Norfolk Row in 1710, he built another unobtrusive chapel into the attic space beneath the roof. Although registers of Sheffield "papists" were still being reported to the Archbishop of York during the 18th Century, the Reform acts of 1778 and 1791 allowed Catholics more leeway to own property and practise the faith. The garden of the Lord's House was extensive, a proper Chapel was built there in 1816 and Fr Charles Pratt masterminded the building of the current St. Marie's in 1850. Fr Charles died at 38, never having seen the completion of his dream. However, the stonemason supervising the work, a non-Catholic craftsman called Benjamin Gregory, secretly arranged for a tomb to be built for Fr Pratt. At dead of night, he removed the body from St. Bede's Rotherham and interred him in St. Marie's where he lies to this day. The Restoration The old Yorkshire District became the Diocese of Beverley and Dr John Briggs became its first bishop. Dr Joseph Hendren, a Franciscan, became the first Bishop of the new Diocese of Nottingham. On 29th September 1850, Pope Pius IX restored normal Church organization to England and Wales. Later, in 1878, the Diocese of Beverley was sub-divided, creating the Diocese of Middlesborough and the Diocese of Leeds with Robert Cornthwaite becoming first Bishop of the latter. Option for the Poor - A Second Spring In the early and Mid 19th century, Yorkshire experienced an influx of Catholic immigrants drawn into the vortex of the world's first Industrial Revolution. Seeking work in the mills, factories and collieries of the region, families arrived from all over the world, from Poland, Italy and particularly Ireland. To assist in the pastoral and educational care of these people, many of them living in overcrowded properties, dynamic Religious orders founded Houses in Sheffield. The Vincentians, a Congregation of Mission Priests, set up a church in the Crofis area of Sheffield in 1851 The Daughters of Charity founded a house and school in Sdly Street, the first of their foundations in England. Later they opened a hospital and in time their work was augmented by the Sisters of Mercy and the Little Sisters of the Poor. These brave religous lived and died in the service of the poor, having an average life expectancy well below 40 years, mirroring the suffering of those to whom they ministered. The turn of the century saw the arrival of Carmelite contemplatives in 1911. Their monastery at Kirkedge on the hills outside Sheffield still flourishes today. Education Education Education The contribution of the Church to education was phenomenal. The Notre Dame Sisters of Namur arrived in 1861 and dedicated themselves to the work of educating the children of the Catholics of Sheffield. The Brothers of the Christian Schools taught in St. Vincents Parish and a Grammar School for boys was founded by the De La Salle Brothers in 1923. This later amalgamated with St. Paul's to become All Saints in 1976. Bishop Ellis of Nottingham often said that he would rather open a school than a church because they fostered such endeavour and community spirit. He was standing in a strong tradition. Over this whole period, through the great generosity of the Catholic faithful, fine schools were founded from the original St. Mary's Chesterfield in 1865 to St. Michael's Barnsley and Pope Pius Wath in the 1960's. Amalgamation meant that the new McAuley school at Cantley became the biggest school in the diocese in 1981. Alongside the wonderful work accomplished in our parish primary schools, the contribution of dedicated teachers in Hallam has been of inestimable value to us all. Friends in Faith This period saw a time of expansion and consolidation in the Church in our region. The industrial towns of Yorkshire produced numerous vocations to the priesthood and to the religious life. Ireland, too, provided a great number of dedicated priests and sisters for both the Leeds and Nottingham dioceses. Missioners in turn went from our own county to Africa, South America and the Far East. By 1950, the celebrations for the Centenary of the Restoration of the Hierarchy were held amidst great rejoicing. The Catholic population of England was estimated at nearly 3 million and was in confident mood. 'A Catholic School for every Catholic child' was seen as an achievable reality. The Second Vatican Council (1962-66) convened by Pope John XXIIT, defined its task as renewing the life of the Church and bringing up to date its teaching, discipline and organisation. It saw as one of its great go~s the Unity of Christians. At last, much of the pain of the previous four centuries began to abate, as Christians of all denominations began to discover their common baptismal heritage in the love and mercy ofF ather, Son and Spirit. The Birth of a Diocese The Second Vatican Council declared that "Bishops must be able to carry out their pastoral function effectively ~ong {heir people ... with a proper determination of territorial limits." With this in mind, Bishop Wheeler of Leeds appointed Gerald Moverley as an auxiliary Bishop with pastoral responsibility for the southern part of the diocese. Over the next decade or so, ideas were advanced about the feasibility of a diocese which would include South Yorkshire and the Northern part of the Nottinghamshire diocese. At one stage, a cigar shaped "Zeppelin diocese" from Glossop to Cleethorpes was mooted. In the end, the more homogenous region around Sheffield was designated by Pope John Paul II as the Diocese of Hallam with 50 parishes from Leeds amalgamated with 16 from Nottingham. The name ofthe new Diocese was taken from the Saxon name of the Manor of Sheffield and its surrounding townships. The new diocese united the Trent Valley region with its association with the Pilgrim Fathers; the Dukeries area around Worksop and the historic High Peak of Derbyshire; the great City of Sheffield and its hinterland; the former medieval market towns of Chesterfield, Bamsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and the former coal rich villages which surround them. A Coming of Age Bishop Moverley was consecrated first bishop of the new diocese on 30th May 1980. St. Marie's was designated the Cathedral and the old St. Charles School became the Pastoral Centre. Despite suffering from serious heart problems, Bishop Moverley had a gift for organisation. Curial departments were set up for Education, Youth, Finance and Tribunal work. The Caring Service was established and the annual pilgrimages to Lourdes and Walsingham began. Bishop Moverley retired on 8th July 1996 and died on December 12th of that year. He was buried in the crypt of St. Marie's Cathedral. The present Bishop of Hallam, John Rawsthorne had been consecrated an auxiliary of Liverpool to Derek Warlock in 1982. He was appointed as Bishop of Hallam on 3rd July 1997 to lead the diocese into the new millennium under the patronage of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Can We Drink The Cup? In the 1980's, when interviewing a candidate for the priesthood, Bishop Moverley pointed out that "all the heavy industries are collapsing, the population is declining, do you still want to work here?" Not only is it true that there are socio-economic difficulties in our area, but the wider social picture is one which seems to mitigate against a sense of faith and human dignity. An acceptance of greed as an engine of the economy and widespread disdain for the value of human life from conception to grave is prevalent. Moreover, while Jesus may be regarded an ethical figure from history, his radical claim to be Son of God is generally ignored. Our faith seems out of step with contemporary trends and we worry about the shortage of priests, religious and young people in our church. The Lord of History In this context we do well to remember the event we celebrate this day. World Mission Sunday in the 2000th Year of Grace. If facing the future appears intimidating, perhaps we can draw courage from looking back! When we are reminded of our history, we can be renewed. Humble giants of the past have confronted worse situations than ours. Let us draw strength from their example. And in a Spirit of wisdom and fire, may we be emboldened by the promise of the Servant King.

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