The roots of our parish are to be found in those Thames-side areas of Bermondsey and Wapping

where the emigrant Irish had first come to settle in the nineteenth century, following the travails in

Ireland.After the slum clearances of the inner city, to places like Downham, in the early twentieth

century, that Irish connection continued but is now dwarfed by the many nations of the world who

have settled in Downham. During the millennium year we discovered we have over 50 different

nations represented in our parish community and that has further increased in recent years.

Our Sunday worship is a source of great joy as we gather together as a people from the four

corners of the earth to offer our lives and our prayers to God for ourselves and for our neighbours

throughout the world.

                                        Canon John Kavanagh
                                    Parish Priest