History of St Dominic's Church Dursley

In 1845 William Leigh bought an estate at Woodchester. He built a church at Woodchester and invited the Passionist Fathers and then the Dominicans to minister to the area. They built churches at Stroud and Nympsfield. They also received many people into the Church, and these formed the basis of the Catholic community in Dursley. Initially the Dominicans said Mass in a barn in Broadwell Street Dursley, and from 1933 Mass was said in a YMCA hut in Long Street. Parishioners included Mrs Millicent Lister, and Mr Evelyn Waugh. These two assisted local efforts to build a proper church in Dursley, and the foundation stone of St Dominic’s was laid in 1938. The church was dedicated to St Dominic in recognition of the work of the Dominican friars, and it was opened on 26th February 1939. The presbytery was built in 1954.

The parish community has long included Catholics from Poland, Italy and Ukraine, and now also France, Sri Lanka, The Phillipines, Nigeria and others. These communities are part of our parish history and part of our parish family. 
St Dominic’s today is a small but friendly community. The parish has a flourishing UCM, a Prayer Group and a splendid parish hall. There are many activities in the parish, and these are detailed more fully in the newsletter. If you are new to the parish, please give your details to the Parish Priest. If there is any more information that you require, please get in touch.

Pastoral Council

The Parish Pastoral Council meets approximately 4 times a year, and each meeting includes the opportunity to present parish feedback.

If you wish to contact the PPC for any reason, please get in touch with one of the members either by contacting the Parish office or in person.  The PPC members are:

Fr Philip Thomas
Deacon Domenic Bucci
John Hudson (Chair)
Colin Archer
Mary Cryan
Laura Gardiner
Pete Tarski
Sue Whitney
Pat Uglow 

John McParland

Minutes of the last meeting can be found here.

Finance Committee

The parish Finance Committee acts as the parish Finance Council which is established under Canon Law.  It meets every 3 months and its members are:

Fr Philip Thomas
Sue Whitney (Treasurer)
Colin Archer (Gift Aid Secretary)
Pat Uglow

Mary Cryan

The 2022 Annual Report can be found here. 

Getting Involved

St Dominic's Parish strongly encourages all to volunteer their services in some way to help support and build up the parish community, working either alone or with others, however you feel most comfortable.  Help is needed with all of the following:

Choir singers and instrumentalists
Church Cleaners
Flower Arrangers
Refreshments
Property Maintenance

If you feel you can assist in any or all of these areas please speak to Fr Philip.