| Holy Name Church | |
|---|---|
| Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Chorlton on Medlock | |
 View of the entrance | |
  Holy Name Church Location with Manchester Show map of Manchester Holy Name Church Holy Name Church (Greater Manchester) Show map of Greater Manchester | |
| 53°27′52″N2°13′52″W / 53.4645°N 2.2311°W /53.4645; -2.2311 | |
| OS grid reference | SJ8475796438 |
| Location | Manchester |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Status | Chapel of ease |
| Founded | 15 October 1871 (1871-10-15) |
| Founder | Bishop William Turner |
| Dedication | Holy Name of Jesus |
| Consecrated | 1923 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Grade I |
| Designated | 18 December 1963 |
| Architect(s) | J. A. Hansom and Son |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1869 |
| Completed | 1928 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 800 |
| Length | 186 ft (57 m) |
| Width | 122 ft (37 m) |
| Spire height | 185 ft (56 m) |
| Materials | Moulded Terracotta Warwick Bridge stone |
| Administration | |
| Province | Liverpool |
| Diocese | Salford |
| Deanery | Chorlton-on-Medlock |
| Parish | St. Augustine Church[1] |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop | Rt. Rev. John Arnold |
| Rector | Fr Paul Fletcher SJ |
| Priest in charge | Fr Dushan Croos SJ |
| Priest | Fr Philip Harrison SJ |
TheChurch of the Holy Name of Jesus onOxford Road,Manchester, England was designed byJoseph A. Hansom in partnership with his sonJoseph Stanislaus Hansom and built between 1869 and 1871.[2] The tower, designed byAdrian Gilbert Scott, was erected in 1928 in memory ofFr Bernard Vaughan, SJ. The church has beenGrade I listed on theNational Heritage List for England since 1989, having previously been Grade II* listed since 1963.[3]
In 1860,William Turner, the first bishop ofSalford, invited theJesuits to make a home in Chorlton-on-Medlock, at the time a middle class suburb.
As well as the growing middle classes, Manchester was home to a large and expanding population of Irish immigrants who migrated to work in cotton manufacturing, especially after theGreat Famine. In the area known as Little Ireland, the Parish ofSt Mary, Mulberry Street was unable to cope; in twenty years, thirteen priests had succumbed totyphus whilst working amongst the city's poor.[4]
The Jesuits had a formidable record ofoutreach andmissionary work, and this was put to good use. Whilst he was rector from 1888 to 1901,[5] Fr Bernard Vaughan SJ took part in a series of debates with theAnglicanBishop of Manchester,James Moorhouse, over rival claims of theCatholic Church in England and Wales and theChurch of England to be the Catholic Church in England and successor ofSt. Augustine. In their jubilation, the young men of Holy Name pulled his carriage from the city centre all the way to the church.[6]
Bishop Turner was keen to have a church in Chorlton-on-Medlock staffed with priests who could meet the intellectual, apologetic and controversial needs of Manchester. Jesuits fromSt Helens came to settle, at first in a temporary church (now the site of the Holy Name Hall, which has since been sold). Holy Name was made a parish church to serve the growing populations of the parishes ofLongsight and Chorlton-on-Medlock, as villas were replaced by streets as the population of industrial Manchester grew. The construction of the building reinforced the power of the Jesuit order and the revived confidence of the English Catholics. It is the largest church in Manchester and dominates the surrounding area.[7]
The church's dimensions and proportions are on the scale of a 14th-centurycathedral; it is 186 feet long east to west and 112 feet wide. The architect Joseph Aloysius Hansom (who gave his name to theHansom Cab) based the building onGothic styles of France.Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described it as
"...a design of the very highest quality and of an originality nowhere demonstrative; ... Hansom never again did so marvellous a church."[8]
Although medieval in appearance, it is a counter-Reformation church, designed to teach the faith through its external liturgical and devotional manifestation. It gives maximum exposure to the solemn celebration of the Mass (a raised altar near the congregation with no rood screen, and a shallow, broad sanctuary), the cult of the Eucharist (the eye is first carried to the tabernacle and the exposition throne above), preaching (a large pulpit to place the preacher intimately in the congregation), and the hearing of confessions (the whole north side is taken up with confessionals designed for long hours of priestly ministration). Consequently, the pillars in the church are unusually slender, accomplished by making the roof of the church from hollow terracotta tubes, manufactured byGibbs and Canning.[9]
Built in brick, it is clad in brushed Warwick stone. Hansom's original design called for a broad shrine shaped steeple 73 feet high. In 1928 the tower was built, designed byAdrian Gilbert Scott.
The nave can accommodate 800 worshippers. Smallchapels adorn the south side, along with the baptistery towards the west. On the north side are confessionals, each with a fireplace. Between the confessionals and the chapels are theStations of the Cross. Thepulpit has a mosaic of theEnglish Martyrs. According toSimon Jenkins, the church interior has "an aura unlike any church I know", and the interior decoration gives an "impression of no expense spared".[7]
At the Holy Name, mass is celebrated in English. The celebration of the liturgy is designed to be catechetical, with solemn ritual, music, hymns and a familiar preaching style. Sunday Mass lasts about an hour. Weekday Masses, designed to suit the student timetable, are at 12:30pm. Each lunchtime there is exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at noon, during which confessions are heard.
The organ is located at the west end of the nave. Built in 1871 byWilliam Hill & Son of London,[10] it has 48 speaking stops over three-manuals and pedals.[11] It was completely rebuilt in 1926 by Messrs Wadsworth Ltd and restored in 2004. It is maintained by David Wells of Liverpool. The pipes on the front of the case are ornatelydiapered and were restored to their original colour scheme of lighter shades of red and green with gold motifs. Above the organ and choir loft are two gilded angels.
Music for the Solemn Mass follows the decrees of the Vatican, and utilises Gregorian chant and polyphony on Sundays (with congregational English hymns), whilst for major solemnities there are classical organ and orchestral settings from the 17th to the 21st century.
Proximity of the chaplaincy church to theUniversity of Manchester andRoyal Northern College of Music means that students play an integeral role in the musical life of the church, through participating in the two active choral groups, using the church as concert venue for student led classical and sacred music groups, and providing a place for music students to practice.
The bishop asked the Jesuits to close the church in 1985. By then the congregation had dwindled because of local shifts in housing and demographics, and the church was closed for most of the day. The diocese did not want it, so the major superiors of England and Wales were asked to consider its viability. A community of secular priests and lay brothers (an Oratory of St Philipin Formation) came to Manchester in 1992 and since then the church has been in the process of massive renovation project. It is open daily and congregational numbers have increased.[citation needed]
In September 2012, it was announced that the Jesuits would return to Manchester to take over the chaplaincy to the Universities, theRoyal Northern College of Music and the church. The Oratory community at the Holy Name under Fr Raymond Matus was relocated toSt Chad's, Cheetham Hill whereBishop Terence Brain had granted them permission to establish a Congregation of theOratory of Saint Philip Neri.[12]
Renowned English authorAnthony Burgess visited the Holy Name as a young man, in 1965 he wrote, ‘with me, at an age when I could not counter the arguments of the Holy Name Jesuits, it was unavoidable agony since it was happening, it seemed, against my will. As an English schoolboy brought up on the history of the Reformation, I rejected a good deal of Roman Catholicism, but instinct, emotion, loyalty, fear, tugged away.'
Leslie Stuart was aSouthport born composer of stage musicals and popular songs of theVictorian andEdwardian era. In 1899 he wrote his biggest hitFlorodora which was produced onBroadway inNew York. In 1887Bernard Vaughan employed Stuart as organist at the Holy Name. He lived nearby with his family in a large semidetached villa on Lime Grove.[13]
BornManchester 22nd of May 1996, was aCatholic student, who was diagnosed withcancer of the pelvis. He returned fromImperial College to Manchester to receive treatment. During this time he was resident nearby the Holy Name inVictoria Park where he died, under the care ofOpus Dei. Pedro is a candidate forCanonisation. His funeral was held at the Holy Name in 2018.
Jerome Caminada known as the ManchesterSherlock Holmes was a Manchester born police officer and the firstCID superintendent of the city. He had a long association with the Holy Name, he married Amelia Wainhouse there in 1881, and his requiem mass was held there in 1914.[14]
Manchester band,The Smiths, referred to the Holy Name church in the opening line ofVicar in a Tutu,"I was minding my business lifting some lead off the roof of The Holy Name church".[15]
The funeral of locally born actressPat Phoenix, best known for her role ofElsie Tanner inCoronation Street, was held at the church following her death in September 1986.[citation needed]
