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Click on the icon to see the books available at the back of the church |
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In the Middle Ages a small
Chapel dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria existed on the same site
as the present Church. Devotion to this saint seems to have started
in the Holy Land on Mount Sinai. Although accounts vary, the fact
remains that today there is still a monastery dedicated to St. Catherine.
It is at the foot of Jebel Musa, the "Mountain of Moses"
and was built at the beginning of the sixth century by the Emperor
Justinian. In the centre of the monastery (which housed six to seven
thousand monks in the first centuries of Christianity and three to
four hundred during the Middle Ages) is the Church. Inside, near the
central altar, is the "Crypt of St. Catherine". According
to local tradition her cult can be traced back to the early fourth
century when, during the reign of Maximinus, she left Alexandria in
Egypt and retreated to a rocky valley in Sinai. There, Catherine devoted
her life to God and managed to escape Caesars persecution. Ultimately,
she was discovered and martyred. Approximately three centuries later
some Sinai monks, in response to a dream, found her body on the mountain.
It was reverently transferred to a golden casket in their Church.
The construction of this little church began in May 1966.
The Catholic Church in Wimborne has been active in an unbroken line
since 350 A.D. Right through the Reformation Mass continued to be
said daily at Canford and Stapehill within the parish boundary. The
stone Church of St. Catherine replaces an earlier wooden building
where Mass was ce1ebrated for the first time on Christmas Eve 1926.
The opening of the present Church took place in November 1933. Inside
there is an interesting stained glass memorial window dedicated "to
the greater glory of God and in memory of the Rt. Hon. James Radcliffe
3rd Earl of Derwentwater and his wife Anna Maria daughter of Sir John
Webb Bart of Canford in this parish, where the faith was kept alive
during the Penal Times Feb.24th 1716 R.I.P." The Earl of Derwentwater
was executed for his part in the 1715 Rebellion.
There is an ancient "link" also between the holy city of
Rome and Wimborne. The Church "Santo Spiritu a Sassia" which
stands on the site of a former hostelry, a house for pilgrims instituted
in 726 A.D. by King Ina of Wessex, cherishes a picture of the Madonna
thought to have belonged to King Ina. This same monarch donated land
to his sister, St. Cuthberga, for the founding of Wimborne Minster
in 713 A.D. |
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Parish News
Last Updated 08/Oct/2008
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Ethical Living in The Community
Last Updated 19/May/2007 |
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