Showing 65 results

People / Organisations
P206 · Person · 1900-1954

John Peter Arendzen was born in January 1873 in Haarlem, Holland, the eldest of nine and the first of four to be ordained to the priesthood in England. After his education in Holland, John entered St. Thomas' Seminary, Hammersmith and transferred, aged 20, to St. Mary's College, Oscott in March 1893 and ordained there on 21st September 1895.

After a PhD at Bonn University and his DD at Munich University, he graduated at Christ's College, Cambridge with a BA in 1901 and an MA in 1906 . Whilst there he was assigned to the Mission Church in St. Ives. Initially he celebrated Mass at a small wooden chapel, purchased by benefactor George Pauling, but such was his missionary zeal that from a base of no Catholics, by 1902, fifty six were evident and a larger church was required. George Pauling donated £1000 which bought the redundant Church of St. Andrew in Cambridge. This was dismantled, transported by barge to St Ives, and rebuilt on its present site in Needingworth Road, in less than 5 months.

On Sunday 16 March 1902, he laid the foundation stone which included the Latin inscription “AD FIDEM REDEANT ANGLI” ('May the English return to the Faith'). The church was reconsecrated on 9th July 1902 by Bishop Riddell, Bishop of Northampton and dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At the opening ceremony Fr. Arendzen's brother Leo acted as thurifer, their parents and three sisters were in the congregation.

Fr Arendzen was a tireless, devoted, eloquent and scholarly priest, totally dedicated to his life in the Church, and to whatever role he was assigned. He won a place in the hearts of parishioners, fellow priests, students and all who knew him. He had a reputation as a brilliant orator and was named by one national newspaper as 'one of the preachers of the century', no mean feat given that English was not his native language. He was a prolific author writing many essays, several articles to the Catholic Encyclopaedia in 1913, the Journal of Theological Studies, the Jewish Quarterly and annotations to the Douai Bible. His literary activity included the Catholic Gazette, the Catholic Times and several books, including: 'Ten Minutes a Day to Heaven', 'Heaven Sense: What Scripture and the Catholic Church Really Teach about Heaven'.

He died in London on 21st July 1954 aged 81, his Requiem Mass was held at Sacred Heart Church, Kilburn, across the street from the Arendzen family home.

P104 · Person · 1947-1983

1947: Bishop's Secretary
19-8-1952: Address at the laying of the foundation stone for Our Lady of Good Counsel & St Peter in March in presence of Bishop of Northampton.
1956-1958: PP at St Neots
retired from St Oswald's

1983: died

Berrell, Augustine Rev
P116 · Person · 1967-1995

1967-1975: PP St Felix, Felixstowe
1983: PP March
1987: retired
1995: died

Borovsky, Tibor Rev
P713 · Person · 1988-

1988: ordained in 1988 in Nitra (Slovakia). He ministered in several parishes in Slovakia.
2010: Ethnic Chaplain in London for both Slovak and Czech community. Also continues to serve Slovak communities in London and Peterborough
October 1st 2022: Parish priest in St Neots,

P731 · Person · 1961-

1961: born
1989: ordained
~1994: PP at St Michael the Archangel, Huntingdon
~1997-2019: Chaplain in RAF
~2014-2019: Principal Roman Catholic Chaplain (RAF)
2019-: PP at Priest Our Lady and St Charles Borromeo, Wisbech

Cawthorne, Garard (Gary) Rev
P697 · Person · 1981-1993

1982-1985 - St Edmunds, Bury St Edmunds
1986-? - St George's, Norwich
1988-1989 - Our Lady and English Martyrs, Cambridge
1990-1993 - (Our Lady of Lourdes), Dogsthorpe, Peterborough

P090 · Person · 1895-1963

1895: born
1918: ordained
1922 - 1936: PP at March
1963: died

Wallace George Clare was born in Ipswich and brought up in Suffolk. Educated at Lowestoft College, St Wilfred’s College, and Paris. At seven, he decided to become a clergyman; by nine the curly headed schoolboy nicknamed “Bubbles” had begun his life-long interest in books and genealogy which led to his founding the Irish Genealogical Research Society in1936. At eleven, a visit to an RC church brought him to Roman Catholicism. Father Clare was sent to Paris for training and appointed a Curate at Northampton Cathedral until 1922 when he became the Parish Priest at March, Cambridgeshire.
There, he was a continual surprise to his Bishop. In 1923 Fr Clare wrote of the good work on the presbytery; “1st I heard about a Presbytery being started!” replied the Bishop. Fr Clare’s artistic and theatrical friendships enabled him to convince London artistes to perform concerts in rural March for church funds. The Bishop curtailed these since, whilst well received, they turned very little profit. In 1924 he asks the Bishop if he may erect shrine in Church in honour of St Wendreda. His supporting historical research includes a photograph of an Indulgence granted to parish church by Cardinal Wolsey in 1526; could the Bishop renew it in favour of March church of Our Lady & St Peter?
Soon after, Fr Clare’s presbytery became a small school for “difficult boys”. However, someone sent the Bishop the school’s prospectus, which he queried. Fr Clare replied that it was not truly a prospectus since it was not a school, in the strictest sense; taking only abnormal boys for supervision and treatment. The prospectus was a “camouflage to save the feelings of parents of mental boys whose friends might find out that they are in March”. Pupils were medically examined and once a cure is effected the boys can be taught by qualified teacher. Fr Clare apologised for his thoughtlessness and was “always anxious to make right any wrong”. A contemporary of [Dame] Nellie Melba wrote to say his son was much improved, indeed unrecognisable, following Fr Clare’s schooling.
Fr Clare maintained his interest in theological and ecclesiastical affairs and did much research and writing; he amassed a large collection of books on every aspect of religion and the Church. He published books and articles which included “The Historic Dress of the English Schoolboy”, “A Young Irishman’s Diary”, the diary of his grandfather, John Keegan of Moate, “A Simple Guide to Irish Genealogy”. His life work was the Convert Rolls (uncompleted) making biographical and genealogical notes to the lists of Converts to the Protestant Faith.
Fr Clare dreaded the March winters, which in 1962 exacerbated his bronchitis and he retired, going to the Franciscan Sisters at Maryland, Milford on Sea, and died in April 1963.

"The Wallace Clare Award is named in honour of Rev. Wallace Clare (1895-1963), a Catholic priest and keen academic who founded the IGRS [Irish Geneological Research Society] in 1936. This was as a response to the great conflagration of 1922, which consumed almost the entire contents of Ireland’s Public Record Office. Fr. Clare initiated the Society's core policy of maintaining a library which 87 years later holds an invaluable collection of transcripts and abstracts compiled from documents subsequently destroyed in the fire. He was the author of the first ever book on Irish ancestral research, A Simple Guide to Irish Genealogy, published in 1937. Unsurprisingly, Fr. Clare was the first individual to be elected a Fellow of the IGRS in 1937." From IRGS website "https://www.irishancestors.ie/20004-10 (accessed 20-5-2023)

P747 · Person · 1974-77

1928: born
1965: ordained
?-?: United States & West Indies
1974- ~1977: Assistant Priest, St Michael, Huntingdon [served at The Good Shepherd, Huntingdon]
1988-1989: PP at Sheringham
1991: incardinated into Diocese of East Anglia
1991-2003 [2006?]: PP at St Dominic's Downham Market
2003 [2006?]: retired from Downham Market to Ireland
2019: died

Born in Ballinadee, Bandon, in County Cork; ordained priest by the Bishop of Clogher in June 1965 for the Sacred Heart Community. Served in the parish of Rochester, New York; seven years in the Missions in the Bahamas, on Abaco Island. Returning to England he served as an Assistant in West Acton in Westminster; Assistant in the parish of St Michael Huntingdon. As Parish Priest he served at St Felix, Haverhill, St Jude’s Whittlesey, and St Joseph’s, Sheringham.
Obituary RCDEA Diocesan yearbook 2022, Pg76

Doupe, Stephen Rev
P184 · Person · 1950-1970

1950-1970: PP at St Ives

P046 · Person · 1977 - 2011

1977 - 1981 PP St Ives
7-1981 - 5-1986 PP at Woodbridge
25-7-2011 died, buried at Miltown Malbay, Co. Claire, RoI

Duff, John Rev (1868-)
P755 · Person · 1868-

1868: PP at Huntingdon mission, serving Ramsey

"A small iron building was opened as a Mass centre for Huntingdon in 1871 or 1872 by the Rev. John Duff, priest at the Ramsey mission. A presbytery was built in 1878 and from then until the end of the century the two towns were served by a priest based at Huntingdon."

Duffy, Patrick Rev (-1928)
P279 · Person · 1887-1928

~1887-1909: Huntingdon
1909: retired from Huntingdon
1928: died

P752 · Person · 1924-1927

1846: born
1890: received into Catholic Church (stated in a letter in 1924 - celebrating 34 year anniversary of reception)
1927: in letter states she is 81
1928: died

P166 · Person · 1929 - 1977

Father John Fennell died on Sunday 28th December 1997 of a heart attack whilst on holiday in Dublin. Born in Dublin in November 1929, educated at Belvedere College, Dublin, and at Clonliffe Seminary (University College, Dublin); later at the French College and the Scots College, Rome. He was ordained on 17th April 1954. His first appointment was as curate to Kettering then as a curate in Norwich and as chaplain to the University of East Anglia. He had of appointments as parish priest in Sawston, St Patrick's, Corby, St Anthony's, Farnham Royal, Biggleswade and Wellingborough. He is buried In Dublin.

Finegan, David Rev
P042 · Person · 1985-

1985: ordained
1990-?: PP at St Peter and All Souls, Peterborough
?-1996-?: PP at St Mary's, Thetford
1998-?: PP at Our Lady of the Annunciation, King's Lynn
2019-: St Ethedreda, Ely

P763 · Person · 1892-1979

1892: born
1911: Professed as Benedictine, St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough
1941: Chaplain to the Carmelite Convent, Waterbeach
1941: Chaplain to RAF Waterbeach
1957-1979: Lynford
1979 - : Belmont Abbey, Hereford