Once Roman Catholicism had been outlawed by Henry VIII, its
practice was conducted in secret for 200 years until the advent of
limited tolerance in the late eighteenth century. A "Riding
Mission" was then set up at Kings Cliffe, from where a Priest rode
on horse-back to visit his parishioners over a wide area, including
Peterborough. By 1848 a priest had been appointed to serve
Peterborough itself, as the City had become home to a large
concentration of Catholics.
The first church in Peterborough opened in 1850, and was
replaced in 1856 and again in1896. A number of suburban churches
have also been built since 1959, and Italian and Ukrainian Missions
established (the Italian one being St Joseph's in Gladstone
St).
Tolerance eventually extended to the re-creation of Roman
Catholic Dioceses, and from 1850 to 1976 Peterborough came within
the Diocese of Northampton, but was transferred into the newly
created Diocese of East Anglia in 1976.
Website: www.stpeterandallsouls-peterborough.org.uk/.
St Peter and All Souls Roman Catholic Church, Peterborough
(National Register of Archives)
- 1896-1922: mission books.
Originals held at Northamptonshire Record Office.
Copies available on microfilm at Peterborough Central
Library.
St Joseph's (Italian Mission Church), Peterborough
- 1972-1989: Marriage registers.
Held at Northamptonshire Record Office.
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