View source for Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury

{{Short description|Roman Catholic diocesan shrine and parish church in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, UK}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox church
| name                   = Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury
| fullname               = Shrine and Parish Church of Our Lady, Glastonbury
| image                  = St Mary of Glastonbury.jpg
| image_size             =
| alt                    =
| caption                = The front of the church from Magdalene Street
| pushpin map            = Somerset#England
| pushpin label position =
| pushpin map alt        =
| pushpin mapsize        =
| relief                 =
| map caption            =
| coordinates            = {{coord|51.1450|-2.7178|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| location               = [[Glastonbury, Somerset]]
| country                = [[United Kingdom]]
| denomination           = [[Catholic Church]]
| website                =
| founded date           =
| founder                =
| dedication             = [[St Mary]]
| dedicated date         =
| groundbreaking         = 1939
| completed date         = 1940
| construction cost      = £11,000
| deanery                = Blessed Richard Whiting<ref>{{cite web |title=Parishes |url=https://cliftondiocese.com/parishes/ |website=Clifton Diocese |access-date=12 February 2024}}</ref>
| archdeaconry           =
| episcopal conference   = [[Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales]]
| metropolis             = [[Archdiocese of Birmingham]]
| diocese                = [[Diocese of Clifton]]
| province               = [[List of Catholic dioceses in Great Britain#Ecclesiastical province of Birmingham (founded 1911)|Ecclesiastical province of Birmingham]]
| priest                 = Fr Dominic Findlay-Wilson
| deacon                 =
}}
The '''Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury''' in [[Glastonbury, Somerset]], England, is a [[Roman Catholic]] church that was completed in 1940, which includes the [[shrine|Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Glastonbury]].
==History==
The church sits along Magdalene Street facing the medieval [[Abbot's Kitchen, Glastonbury|Abbot's Kitchen]] across the road in [[Glastonbury Abbey]]. On the same site once stood the original Catholic church in an old converted stable, which was pulled down in 1938.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://glastonburyconservation.org.uk/108/RChist.php|title=Roman Catholicism in Glastonbury over 400 years (2003) &#124; Glastonbury Conservation Society|website=glastonburyconservation.org.uk}}</ref> Behind the church there was once the St Louis Convent school, which operated from 1925 until 1984.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stlouisconvent.co.uk/index.html|title=Remembering St. Louis Convent in Glastonbury}}</ref> The new church was made at a cost of £11,000 and was built using Bath and Corsham stone. At the front of the church, carved into the stone, are statues of the [[Madonna and Child]], Saint [[Dunstan]] to the left and [[Richard Whiting (abbot)|Richard Whiting]], the last abbot of Glastonbury, on the right. Father Michael Fitzpatrick worked on raising these funds and relied upon local donations to do so.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.glastonburyshrine.co.uk/Shrine/Openingofthepresentchurch.php|title=Opening of the present church – Glastonbury Shrine|website=www.glastonburyshrine.co.uk}}</ref>
==Relics==
After its consecration on July 2, 1941, by Bishop Lee of Clifton, the church was blessed and relics from saints placed within the altar and reliquaries from:
*[[Oliver Plunkett]] – Patron saint of peace and reconciliation in Ireland
*[[Thomas Becket]] – Patron saint of the Roman Catholic Secular Clergy
*[[Pope Innocent I]] – Once pope for 16 years
*[[Benedict of Nursia]] – Patron saint of students and the dying, et al.
*[[Victoria of Albitina]] – Patron of Anticoli, Italy
*[[Saint Barbara]] – Patron saint of artillerymen and miners
*[[Pope Clement I]] – Patron saint of stone cutters and sailors
==Interior==
Behind the altar is the statue of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury, which was executed in 1955. Either side is a large tapestry which was woven by the Edinburgh Tapestry Company. It depicts the three Glastonbury Martyrs – Abbot [[Richard Whiting (abbot)|Richard Whiting]], his treasurer [[John Thorne (martyr)|John Thorne]] and their companion Roger James – before they were [[hanged, drawn and quartered]] at [[Glastonbury Tor]] during the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]]. Also depicted are Saints Dunstan, [[Saint Patrick|Patrick]], [[Brigid of Kildare|Brigid]], [[Joseph of Arimathea]], and [[Saint David|David]], and the monk [[Richard Bere]] who was beheaded for refusing to "take the Oath of Henry's supremacy over the Church".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.glastonburyshrine.co.uk/Shrine/BlessedRichardBere.php|title = Blessed Richard Bere – Glastonbury Shrine}}</ref>
Above the tapestry is a stained glass window depicting the Crucifixion with [[Mary Magdalene]] at the feet of Jesus. On the left is the Virgin [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]] and on the right is Saint [[John the Apostle|John]], a disciple of [[Jesus]].
==List of priests==
*Fr Francis Burdett, 1926–1928 <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.glastonburyshrine.co.uk/Shrine/ParishPriests.php|title = Parish Priests – Glastonbury Shrine}}</ref>
*Fr Patrick O'Beirne, 1929–1938
*Fr Michael Fitzpatrick, 1938–1944
*Fr William Ryan, 1944–1948
*Fr Joseph Sheehan, 1948–1952
*Fr James O'Brien, 1952–1962
*Fr Sean McNamara, 1962–1967
*Fr John O'Connor, 1968–1982
*Fr Nicholas Tranter, 1982–1984
*Fr Paul Sankey, 1984–1998
*Fr Kevin Knox-Lecky, 1999–2012
*Fr James Finan, 2012–2017
*Fr Bede Rowe, 2017–2019
*The Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury, 2019–2021
*Fr Dominic Findlay-Wilson, 2021–present
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Diocese of Clifton}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury}}
[[Category:Glastonbury]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches in Somerset]]
{{Europe-RC-church-stub}}
{{England-church-stub}}