A Message From The Father Provincial
It is with great pleasure that I congratulate the parishioners of Wealdstone on the
75th
Anniversary of the parish. You have reason to be proud of a fine parish with a distinguished
history going back over the past 75 years.
It was, like many other parishes, in their infancy, beset with difficulties which abounded on
all sides. The early records show how people and priests alike had to struggle and work for the
survival of the parish. The problems and frustrations they bore so bravely are testimony of
their tenacity and faith and trust in God.
The parish was established and developed by German Salvatorians, we can say by our Founder,
Father Francis Jordan in the first place, and later by such well known figures in the story of
Wealdstone as Fr. Odo Distel, Fr. Gabriel Enderle and Fr. Osmund Boecker. The priests who
succeeded them originated from our own province and carried on the work so nobly begun. Fathers
Cuthbert Smith, Christopher Grant, Xavier Howard, John Baptist Downey, Paul Keyte, Alphonsus
Hopwood, Martin Masterson and your present Parish Priest Fr. Benedict Houghton.
This short history of the parish will show how expansion and consolidation of the Parish was
achieved and I know that the efforts of all the priests would not have succeeded without the
constant co-operation and support of you the parishioners. I should like to thank you all for
the help which you have given to the Salvatorian priests of St Joseph's to make it the
excellent parish it is today.
May the parish continue to flourish and prosper in the true Christian sense until it reaches
many more distinguished anniversaries.
MALACHY McBRIDE, S. D. S., MA.
Provincial