A History of Corpus Christi Parish and Basilica

In the nineteenth century, and after an absence of 333 years following the Protestant Reformation, the Canons Regular of Prémontré returned to this country for the first time since the dissolution and destruction of the monasteries.  The first foundation of the Order was in Crowle (Lincolnshire) in 1872.  In 1889 Bishop Vaughn of Salford asked the Order to take on the spiritual care of some two thousand five hundred Catholics in an area called Miles Platting.

In November 1889, Abbot Heylen of Tongerlo (Belgium) delegated Father Martin Geudens, the parish priest of Crowle, to this new mission.  He purchased the old Webb Glass factory on Varley Street and began to build up this new venture.  After a month of intensive work, the premises were fit for use and on Christmas Eve the first Mass was celebrated by Father Polycarp, a Franciscan from nearby Gorton.

This infant parish was dedicated to Saint Norbert and Saint Juliana.  Bishop Vaughn said “it will be hard for me to express my total gratitude to the Norbertines for I had regarded that part of Manchester as not evangelised.”  The Order soon justified the Bishop’s confidence.  The founding fathers of the parish began to spread devotion to the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament.  They brought with them from their mother Abbey of Tongerlo the Mass of Reparation for all the insults and neglects of the Blessed Sacrament.

However, Bishop Vaughn told the priests not to neglect the building of a proper school to replace the old glass factory.  When Bishop Vaughn left Salford to become Archbishop of Westminster, he said that “the work of the Norbertine Canons in this great industrial city has been one of the greatest joys of my Episcopal career.”  He repeatedly asked the Order to set up a Priory in the Archdiocese of Westminster.

Corpus Christi School was extended in 1885 and a Youth Club began to meet in the old glass factory.  Less than two years later, a school capable of holding 540 children had been built.  Father Geudens, the parish priest, was raised to the dignity of a titular abbot, the first Norbertine Abbot in England since the sixteenth century.

In 1902 Abbot Geudens laid the foundation stone for a new boy’s school and within two years a total of 900 children were receiving their education here.

All of this great development and growth went on and yet there was still no church.  The chapel in the old glass factory had become too small and so a larger church had to be built.

Corpus Christi Basilica was built in the Romanesque style.  The architect was Ernest Gunson and the foundation stone was laid by Bishop Casartelli in 1906.  The church was opened in December 1907.  The parishioners could now move from the chapel in the former glass factory to their new church and it continued to be enlarged and furnished as years went on.

In 1914 some six hundred parishioners, mostly members of the Guild of Saint Herman Joseph, enlisted in the armed forces.  The parish was rightly proud of their bravery and the many decorations they won.  Abbot Geudens had died in retirement at Tongerlo in 1913 and he was now succeeded as parish priest by Father Seadon who was blessed as a titular abbot in April 1914.  The first parishioner to be ordained a priest, Father Thomas Craig, was ordained in September 1914.

By 1925 the Corpus Christi Schools were flourishing, with more than one thousand children receiving their educations here.  The church, only open for eighteen years, was already in need of urgent repairs and people were encouraged to attend charity sermons which were both spiritual and fundraising in nature.  There was a succession of preachers and parishioners paid to listen to their sermons!  How times have changed!

In 1927 Father Dodds was ordained by another Miles Platting old boy, Bishop Thomas Henshaw of Salford.  In 1930 Abbot Seadon died.  He had been a priest in Miles Platting for forty one years and was the first Englishman since the Reformation to be ordained a Norbertine.

In 1931 Father Toner was appointed parish priest and three years later blessed as a titular abbot.

At the beginning of the Second World War the schools were closed until they were fitted with air shelters.  During the air raids, both the Priory and Church were damaged by German bombs.  A land mine exploded across the street and the new windows in the church were blown out and smashed.  A group of Corpus Christi Fire-Watchers was formed but for a while the church was too badly damaged to be used.  When the end of the War came, repairs began in earnest and the Charity Sermons resumed; people again paying to be preached at!

In 1948 Abbot Toner died.  He was a local boy from Saint Edmund’s Parish (now closed) and had celebrated his Golden Jubilee or priesthood shortly before his death.  He was laid to rest in Saint Joseph’s Cemetery in Moston.  Father Anselm Cross was appointed to succeed him as Superior and Parish Priest.  By 1950 the stained glass windows were restored but rains that year showed further weaknesses in the church roof.  With the post-War demolition and re-housing schemes the parish now began to lose many of its members.  Father Cross, a much loved parish priest, retired in 1971 and was replaced by Father Neill.  He died in 1976 and Father Joseph De Clerk succeeded him only to retire a year later due to ill health.  His place was taken by Father Andrew Smith.

In the 1970’s the modernisation of Miles Platting began with the consequent reduction of some 40% of the population.  The changing times were shown in the wire guards which had to be put over the windows to protect them from vandals.  In 1983 Father Smith left to take up duties in Storrington and Father Michael Gallagher was appointed parish priest to replace him.  Father Gallagher was parish priest for only a short time when he was elected Prior of Storrington in 1986.  He was succeeded as parish priest by Father Martin Gosling.  During his time as parish priest the annual Carpet of Flowers began.  Plans for more repairs and renovations to the church began in 1989 in preparation for the opening of the Centenary Year on Christmas Eve 1989.  Sadly, the cosmetic repairs barely skimmed the surface and major problems were left unattended which would only grow worse over time.

In 1992 Father Andrew Smith succeeded Father Gallagher as Prior of Storrington and Father Gallagher returned to Miles Platting as parish priest.  His assistant, Father Dominic Kirkham spent much of his time working with the local community and headed several renewal projects in the area.

In 1996 the English Norbertines agreed the time had come to leave Miles Platting.  It was a difficult decision to make but reflected the many changes both within the Order and in Miles Platting itself.  However, this move did not take place immediately.

In 1999 Corpus Christi School was closed by the Diocese and was amalgamated with Saint Anne's School in neighbouring Ancoats.  Shortly following the closure the derelict school fell prey to arsonists and the buildings had to be demolished.

In 2002 Father Michael Gallagher was again elected Prior of Storrington; this resulted in the division of the community which, shortly after the election split in half.  Corpus Christi became the home of one section of the community, the others remaining in Storrington.  In 2004 the Norbertines in Manchester became an independent community of the Order and Father Gallagher was appointed administrator.  In May 2006 he resigned from this responsibility and was succeeded by Father Hugh Allan. 

In January 2007 the Norbertines in Manchester met to discuss the future of Corpus Christi and decided unanimously to find a new home for the small but growing community, who remain ever ready to follow the motto of our Order: “ready for any good work.”