History
The Most Precious Blood is a Catholic Parish in the Archdiocese of Southwark, served by the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. On 23rd December 2012 the Archbishop of Southwark, Peter Smith, announced that the Parish would be put into the Pastoral Care of the Ordinariate on 7th January 2013, making it the first parish to be in the care of the Ordinariate.
The Catholic Parish of the Most Precious Blood was founded in 1891 by Bishop John Baptist Butt when he received a bequest of £10,000 (equivalent to just over £1m today). Bishop Butt (1826 – 1899) was the Fourth Bishop of Southwark from 1885 to 1897.
The parish covers the Borough, which is just south of the City of London and next to London Bridge Station. The parish is a vibrant mix of businesses, shops and local residents. The newly developed London Bridge and the Shard (the tallest building in Europe) is a good landmark to find the Church.
The architect of the Church was Frederick Arthur Walters (1849–1931). Walters was a pupil of George Goldie and, like Goldie, developed an extensive practice designing Catholic Churches. Walters’ best known works are the Abbeys at Buckfast and Ealing but he was the architect of over fifty Churches in a variety of styles. Within the Archdiocese of Southwark he was responsible for many Churches from the intimate St Wilfrid, Kennington (1914-15) through to the magnificent Sacred Heart, Wimbledon (1884-87). He also designed the Seminary at Wonersh (1891).
The church building was completed in 1892 and has undergone a number of restorations and developments in its history. In 2019 a major restoration was completed with the Church being Consecrated on 1st July , the Feast of the Most Precious Blood, by Archbishop Peter Smith.
