The Stopsley mission was founded from Castle Street in 1946. Mass was offered in St. Thomas’s church hall. In 1948 Fr. George Walker was the first resident priest.
The church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus was opened on 26th November 1950. In 1960, the Presbytery was completed and the church was extended.
We are blessed to have a Parish school (Sacred Heart Primary) right on our doorstep and a secondary/sixth form school (Cardinal Newman) in the town.
The Convent of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart opened at 124 Ashcroft Road and five of the sisters taught in the Sacred Heart School. The Parish school opened on 18th September 1962 with Sr. Columba as the Headteacher.
The Society for the African Missions (SMA) looked after the Parish from 1976 to 2006.
Our Parish Priests
Fr George Walker – 1948 to 1968
Fr Patrick Oates – 1968 to 1974
Fr Eugene Connolly – SMA 1976 to 2001
Fr John Brown SMA – 2001 to 2006
Fr Chris Whitehouse – 2006 to 2019
Fr Mirek Misiura – 2019 to 2022
Rev Fr Allan R Jones CRIC – 2022 to date
Our Parish Deacons
Deacon Jim Bannan – 2013 to date