A HISTORY OF THE PARISH OF ST. JOSEPH

When we think of the Parish of St Joseph's today, it is easy to forget that 150 years ago it came from very humble beginnings. In even earlier times, before the dissolution of the monasteries and the "Reformation", the small community that was Darwen, was served by visiting monks from Whalley Abbey. They travelled here on Saturday afternoons and would stay overnight to celebrate the Sunday Mass and then instruct the people in the truths of the Faith.

In the early 1800's the Parish Priest of St. Alban's in Blackburn, sought to organize the building of a chapel in Bridge St. Darwen for the use of the small number of Catholics in the town.

This was not a success as there was a great deal of anti-catholic feeling at that time.

However, due to the dogged perseverance of the people and clergy, Fr. Ward, a priest again from Blackburn, visited the people of Darwen with the intention of re-establishing the Mission.    A small chapel was built in Redearth Rd. and although the congregation was few in number, they were devout and regular attendees at the Mission.

However, the onerous task of running a parish in Blackburn and trying to serve the people of Darwen proved too much, and the chapel had to be closed down for services.

It was then discovered that a debt of £70 was outstanding on the chapel.  It was therefore sold and transformed into a Public House and named the Black Horse.

Undaunted by the lapse of a few years, another attempt was made around 1855 to revive the mission in Darwen.   A Father Meaney from St. Anne's in Blackburn, undertook this task and in September of 1855 the following notice appeared in the Blackburn Weekly Times:-

"We understand that the Catholic brethren in Darwen have engaged the large room over the Black Horse Public House.   Next Sunday a High Mass will be celebrated for the faithful of Darwen, and we understand that Rev. Fr. Meaney from St. Anne's will be in attendance.  Collections are to be made in aid of current expenses, as we are informed that the party are at present entirely without funds."

The large room over the old chapel was hired then for services for the growing Catholic population of Darwen.   As the population continued to grow, the rented room was no longer large enough and it became a necessity to build a new school chapel.

Land was eventually purchased in Radford Street and St. William's Chapel was built, largely due to the shrewdness, business capabilities and sheer determination of Fr. Meaney.  It cost £480 and was opened on the Feast of St. Peter and St Paul in 1856.  Thus the Catholic parish of Darwen was founded.

The mission building was to be multi-purpose, a school room for the instruction of the faith, a church for the celebration of Holy Mass and a social centre for the raising of funds for the upkeep.

The foundation stone had been laid on Easter Monday of that year   Many had attended the ceremony and Fr. Meaney thanked all who came and who had made any contribution to the funding of the work, many of whom were non-catholics.  He thanked in particular, the architect Mr. Birtwhistle and the builder a Mr. Kay.

The official opening of the Mission was a grand affair, with special sermons preached, and Weber's Mass in G sung by an augmented choir from Darwen, Blackburn and Preston.

About this time, the Catholic population of Darwen had increased greatly and it was found necessary to petition the Bishop for a resident priest for Darwen rather than priests travelling in from Blackburn.
Bishop Turner complied with the request and sent the Reverend Father Desiderius Vandenweghe to take charge of the Mission in 1858.  He was to remain as Parish Priest until his death on 26th March 1898.  He is buried in Darwen Cemetery.

On his arrival in Darwen, Fr. Vandenweghe lodged with a local family, but soon embarked on a building programme of his own.  In 1861 he went to live in the new presbytery in Radford Street and there began to plan further parish improvements.

He next extended the school rooms at the Mission at a cost of £800 and began a day school for the education of the children of the parish.

Over the next few years as the parish grew in numbers, so did the social and fund raising efforts organised by the Parish Priest,  concerts and tea parties being favourite amongst the events held.

The parish however was not insular, and took part in town events and celebrations.
When the wedding of the Prince of Wales was celebrated in 1863, the children from St. William's headed the Sunday Schools' section of the procession.

In June of 1864 the parish had grown to such an extent that when the Bishop visited for Confirmation, there were 102 male candidates and 143 female.
That year also saw a Cotton Famine in Darwen, a consequence of the American Civil War, with many families of all denominations suffering hardship due to the large number employed in the many cotton mills of the town. 
Fr. Vandenweghe served on the Relief Committee set up to help those in great need.  His kindness, courtesy and simplicity of approach appears to have charmed almost everyone in what was a time of intense bigotry.

By 1872, the Mission of St. Williams' had grown in such numbers that Fr. Vandenweghe decided that in order to accommodate everyone at services, he needed to establish a mission at the northern end of town.  Lord Edward Petre, the Lord of the Manor of Lower Darwen, gave an acre of ground for the building of a school to be called St. Edward's after his patron saint.

At St. Williams, the day school was growing fast. In 1868 the teacher in charge was a Bridget Kelly. She saw the school recognised and placed under the control of a Board of Governors.  Fr. Vandenweghe was named as school manager for the rest of his life.

The Parish flourished and grew in number, so much so that in 1870 a plot of land was bought near the top of Mill Gap from Eccles Shorrock at a cost of £650 with a further £25 in payment for the boundary walls, for the purpose of building a bigger church when funds permitted. 

As the parish grew, Fr. Vandenweghe needed assistance to care pastorally for his flock, and so in 1876 Fr. William Hampson, a native of Farnworth, was appointed assistant priest. He worked untiringly with Fr. Vandenweghe, caring for the needs of the parish and in particular visiting the sick.  However, within ten months of his arrival in Darwen through his visits to sick parishioners, he had contracted typhoid and died at the early age of 24.
The parish priest was not a well man, having suffered from heart trouble for many years and so a second assistant priest was sent to help him.  He was a Fr. Peter Kopp from Coblentz on the Rhine.  He quickly endeared himself to the congregation.  However, he too died within a short space of time. His death notice saying quite simply that he died of a fever, caught in visitation of the sick.  He was in his 25th year.

In spite of his own ill health, Fr. Vandenweghe continued to look after both St. William's and St. Edward's as no other priest was available to take over at the northern end of town until the late 1880's.

By this time the debt on the Presbytery was paid off, and work began in earnest to raise the money for the building of a new church. In 1879 he had also bought a second plot of land adjacent to the first one on Mill Gap. This would provide ample land for the church and eventually for a new day school.

By 1883 there was a sum of £2,500 in hand for the building of the new parish church and so in 1884 the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Vaughan on the 3rd of May in very wet weather.   St. William's at that time could accommodate 500 people and was not large enough for the congregation.   A marked contrast to today.

The construction of the new church was now well under way. Pugins of Westminster were the architects.  There was to be seating for 700 and the total cost was estimated at £7,300. 

The main building, organ and furnishings were to cost an estimated £4,000. The Reredos, marble altar and tabernacle were donated by parishioners and special fundraising events were held for the building of the turret.

The church itself was opened on October 15th 1885 by the Right Reverend Dr. Vaughan, Lord Bishop of Salford.  It was one of the largest in Darwen.  It was well lit and heated by hot water pipes.  The local press made much of the fact that during those hard times when work was not easy to come by, all the sub-contracts without exception were given to local people and so the building of the new church became the main source of employment for many in the town during that year.  It was also remarked upon that only quality materials were used.
Many local dignitaries, including the Mayor at the time, attended the opening of the church which was described as "an edifice which is an honour to the Catholic community and an ornament to the town!"
Fundraising continued over the next years until new Day School Buildings were also erected. 

Since his arrival in Darwen Fr. Vandenweghe, in spite of ill health, had worked long and hard to care for the Catholic community in Darwen and to complete a comprehensive building programme. He had been in Darwen for over thirty years.

On the evening of Friday 25th March 1898 Father Vandenweghe went to bed at his usual time after leaving instructions regarding the locking of the doors and turning off the gas.
At 11 p.m. the rest of the household retired and the Parish Priest was awake but seemed in his usual health.  The following morning when he had not risen to say Mass, his housekeeper found in lying in bed with his hands clasped in prayer having passed away in his sleep.  He is buried in Darwen Cemetery.

Throughout the last century the Parish of St. Mary with St. Joseph known as St. Joseph's has continued to grow and flourish.  Today, as in those far off days fundraising for the good of the parish and its people still continues.
The social life of the parish is still very important.   A scout group and Brownie Pack together with a Youth Club cater for the younger members of the congregation.
A children's Liturgy Group operates on Sundays and the Sacramental Programme prepares our young people for the reception of the Sacraments.

All of this work has of course been under the supervision of the priests who have served our parish during the past one hundred and fifty years.
Various priests have been sent to St. Joseph's to minister to the congregation and although much reduced in numbers of faithful attending church, the parish still has active members who keep the parish alive in the tradition started by our first Parish Priest.