Our parish priest is Fr Matthew Bemand-Qureshi. He was ordained for the Diocese of Brentwood in 2012 having previously ministered in the Church of England. Before coming to this parish in 2022, he was parish priest of St Teresa’s Newbury Park for seven years, and before that was assistant priest in Wanstead. He is also the Diocesan Director and Chaplain for Marriage and Family Life, and is an occasional lecturer and research supervisor for the Maryvale Institute on liturgy, sacraments and marriage. He is married to Lucy, with permission granted by the Pope in recognition of his situation as a former Anglican clergyman. Fr Matthew is always happy to see people, for a chat about anything or to celebrate the sacraments of reconciliation or anointing of the sick. He is usually standing at the door of church after weekend Masses, or is available most weekday mornings after Mass. At other times, it is prudent to call first or make an appointment. If you want to enquire about getting married, having a child baptised, or joining the Catholic church, the best thing is to see Fr Matthew after Mass.

Our parish secretary Rachel Hayward is in the parish office (inside the Presbytery) every weekday morning except Wednesdays (9am-12.30pm). She takes care of many aspects of parish administration is the person to contact regarding Mass intentions, baptism certificates, or Hall bookings.

Bernadette Tsocos and Simon Darvill share the role of Steward of the Gospel, a lay (and unpaid) role established by the Bishop to help parishes across the diocese become more confident in their task of proclaiming the good news in their communities, working more closely with neighbouring parishes.

Kathleen O’Donnell is the Parish Safeguarding officer. As well as overseeing the process of inducting parish volunteers in line with national and Diocesan safeguarding procedures, she can be contacted  by anyone with safeguarding concerns in relation to parish activities (regarding young people or vulnerable adults). For more information on safeguarding in the diocese please visit https://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/departments/safeguarding/

All the above can be contacted via the parish office. If your enquiry is of a confidential nature, please simply provide your contact details and indicate who you would like to get in touch with.