Our Lady of Dolours, Kersal - Roman Catholic

Photograph supplied by & Copyright of Mike Berrell. Our Lady of Dolours,
Bury New Road,
Kersal
Lancashire

Cemeteries

The church does not have a graveyard.

Church History

It was founded in 1923. The church opened in 1924, New Church 1964

The Dedication of the Church to "Our Lady of Dolours": The 13th century founders of the Servite Order developed a practice of meditating on the seven sorrows (dolours) of Mary. A beautiful prayer evolved, following much the same meditative pattern as the rosary, using seven groups of seven beads. Hence it is known as the Servite Rosary or the Rosary of Seven Sorrows. The seven sorrows of Mary are:

The prophecy of Simeon Lk 2:33-35
The Flight into Egypt Mt 2:13-15
The loss of the child Jesus in the temple Lk 2:41-52
Meeting Jesus on the way to Calvary Jn 19:17
At the foot of the cross Jn 19:25-30
Taking Jesus down from the cross Jn 19:31-37
The burial of Jesus Jn 19:38-42

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This parish was opened by the Servite Fathers, in March 1923. The first two priests, Rev. Vincent Lecourt and Rev. Francis McEnerney, O.S.M., found temporary accommodation in "Fairhill," a large house then belonging to the nuns of Sedgley Park Training College. These pioneers served, for a time, as chaplains to Nazareth House, Scoles Lane, Prestwich, and Sedgley Park Convent, while a third priest, Rev. Oswald Hagan, O.S.M., was given hospitality by Canon Sharrock at Cathedral House, going from there, over a period of two months, to say Mass at the Carmelite Convent, Vine Street, Kersal.

While looking for a suitable house to serve as a Priory, the Fathers left "Fairhill" to stay at 5 George Street, Sedgley Park, where they lodged until the present property was acquired. They moved into this, the Servite Priory, in March 1924. For some time, Mass was said for the small number of parishioners in a hall called "The Shrubbery" on the Bury New Road. Then, on Sunday, June 16, 1924, the present church, a temporary building, was opened in the presence of His Lordship, Bishop Casartelli. In March 1927, a chapel-of-ease, dedicated to St. Philip Benizi, was opened in Northallerton Road, to serve the needs of the parishioners in Lower Kersal. In 1935, the adjoining property of "Fairhill" was acquired and, with alterations, is now used as a Hall for the various parochial activities.

Taken from "Salford Diocese and its Catholic past", a survey by Charles A. Bolton, a Priest of the above Diocese. Published 1950 on the First Centenary for the Diocese of Salford.

Maps

The church is located at OS grid reference SD821022. You can see this on maps provided by:

• this church marked on a Google map. (Use this to report a corrected location)
• Old Maps
• Streetmap.co.uk.
• multimap.com.
• www.magic.gov.uk
• Google maps showing nearby churches with satellite image option.

This site provides historical information about churches, other places of worship and cemeteries. It has no connection with the churches etc. themselves. For current information you should contact them directly.