Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sat - all Masses at St. George's - 9.15am
Tues - Mass at St. Gregory's 9.15am
Weds - 11.30am Mass

Holy Days of Obligation

9.30am and 8pm at St. George's

First Friday Mass at St. Edmunds - 7.30pm.

Weekend Masses

Sat. 6pm and Sun 10.30am - St. George's
Sun 9am - St. Gregory's

Baptisms are usually held at 12.30 on Sundays and are by appointment. Baptism Preparation Courses run on the first Sunday of every month between 4pm and 6pm. Ring the Presbytery to reserve your place.

A brief history of the Catholic Parish, Shoeburyness

Early in the 19^thcentury Shoeburyness became an Army Garrison town, setting up a school of gunnery with artillery ranges. Many of the soldiers were Catholics, some with families, but there was no church.
In 1832 Lord Petre of Ingatestone Hall appointed a Fr. Last, chaplain of Chelmsford prison and to the Shoeburyness Garrison. Fr. Last had to ride on horse back, staying the night with a familynamed Daines who farmed at Bournes Green and riding on the next day to the Garrison to celebrate mass for the troops and their families.
In 1862 the War Office gave an allowance for a priest to look after the Catholic troops and their families in Shoeburyness.

Fr. John Moore came to look after Southend and Shoeburyness. His work included a walk from Southend on Sunday to celebrate mass at the Garrison, and then walk back to Southend. Later on the Army authorities sent a cab to take him home!
In 1891 the original small church constructed of corrugated iron and wood was provided by the Army and dedicated to St. George on the site of our present church.
Fr. William Toff a former Army chaplain arrived as parish priest in 1923. He was a very popular energetic and athletic priest, playing cricket and hockey in the Garrison when time allowed, and he even acted as a local Town Councillor for a time. He had no place to live at first, and so he lived in several lodgings and for a time in the parish hall (another corrugated ex-army hut next to the church).

In 1928 Fr. Toff had built his new house (the presbytery) and also a Chapel - St. Gregory's in the Broadway at Thorpe Bay.
In 1939 the new church at Shoeburyness was completed and dedicated to St. George and the English Martyrs just before the outbreak of the Second World War.
St. Edmund's in Great Wakering was opened in 1962.
Today the Parish continues to grow and we are continually looking for ways in which to develop our relationship with Christ and with one another. At weekends we usually have over 500 in church, and the parish has many activities organized appealing to all ages.
Our parish life is also enriched by having two Brigidine Sisters who do a great deal of work quitely in the community.
We also have three pastoral Lay Assistantswho look after areas of the Parish. We are fortunate to have St. George's school with 200 pupils, and it is an important part of the parish.

Parish Priest:
Fr Graham Smith
96 Ness Road, Shoeburyness
SS3 9DH
Tel: 01702 292726
Email Fr Smith



Pastoral Assistants
Peter Sullivan 586291

Parish Secretary
Mrs. Sharon Chambers
Tel: 292726

Newsletter items need to be in by Wednesday 12noon please.



New Altar Servers
If you have made your First Holy Communion, and would like to be an Altar Server, we will be very pleased to have you. We will be holding some training sessions after 10.30 a.m. Mass in the autumn. Please see our MC Shawn Clarke, or leave a message at the Presbytery.