Fr Patrick Allsop has been the Parish priest of the Immaculate Heart of Mary & St Dominic since the summer of 2018. In this Q&A, Fr Patrick discusses his previous career before his calling into Priesthood, what he loves about the community of Homerton, and what a day in the life of a Priest really looks like. Read our exclusive Q&A with Fr Patrick below: Fr Patrick on the community of Homerton: When the Vicar General asked me to move to Homerton, he told me it was a parish where people said their prayers and where the congregation come from all over the world. Both are absolutely true, and a great joy. It’s been fascinating getting to know people, and wonderful to be welcomed so warmly and supported with such easy friendship. I realised when I arrived that there was a great deal of repair work to be done. I calculated about a quarter of a million pounds’ worth. After five years, we’ve raised, and spent, about £130,000. Much has been done through the generosity of parishioners in their giving. Now the focus must be on finishing the upgrading of the Hall. How did you get into PriestHood? I was ordained to a parish in Barrow-in-Furness in the diocese of Carlisle. I served as Assistant Priest for three years there. Then, as all my family are teachers, I thought I would try for a School Chaplaincy. I was lucky enough to be appointed Assistant Chaplain at Eton College. After seven years there, I moved to King’s School Rochester (the second oldest school in England) as Fourth Master, Chaplain and Head of Theology. At King’s I ran staff appointments, publicity, including appearing on local television and radio, organised school services in the Cathedral which was our chapel, and ran my department. After fourteen years, I was appointed Chaplain and Head of Theology and Philosophy at St Paul’s School in Barnes. St Paul’s was originally just to the east of St Paul’s Cathedral. It is a school for very clever boys who were very rewarding to teach. I’d always had the priesthood on my list of possible careers when I was a teenager. Then I went to Walsingham to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham on the Anglican National Pilgrimage. In those days, you received Holy Communion with your group at a said Mass in one of the side Chapels. We were in the Chapel of St John Vianney, the Curé d’Ars. I’d not seen his statue before, and it made an immediate and powerful impression on me. Then I had to persuade my Bishop and the Church that I had a vocation. I went to Cuddesdon Theological College, just outside Oxford, and read Theology at the University. When I retired from the Chaplaincy of St Paul’s, I felt I could no longer represent the Church of England. I was warmly welcomed by Cardinal Vincent, and sent to Allen Hall for a year before three years at Borehamwood. I was ordained deacon in the Catholic Church in Westminster Cathedral. Then Cardinal Vincent ordained me priest at Borehamwood. What’s a typical day like as a priest? There isn’t one. After I’ve said the Office and celebrated Mass, I might spend the day at my desk on admin and preparation. Or people come to see me with or without an appointment to discuss all sorts of things. Or I go into St Dominic’s or Cardinal Pole and celebrate Mass or attend a Governors’ meeting. Or I go to meetings in the Deanery or at Archbishop’s House – I’m a member of two diocesan committees. Or I visit parishioners to bless them or their houses. Or I spend time with builders and craftsmen – there’s been a lot of that this year. Or I officiate at funerals, baptisms, or marriages, or hear confessions. Occasionally I get to read a book! The pictures and interview were both taken and conducted by Richard Yamoah-Afrifa.
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