Introduction

The story of the Catholic Church in Moorends is still unfolding, and our contribution to the life of the parish today is part of it. This little booklet sets out to mark the occasion of the Golden Jubilee by recording, albeit sketchily, some of the story from the parish's earliest beginnings to the present day, and on the way attempts to document the continuous changes and developments in our understanding and relationship with God and our fellow men.

The parish's earliest history predates the opening of the present church by many years, and so it was considered appropriate to begin by including Fr. W. M. Smith's history of these early days almost exactly as he wrote it, but with additional reference to the baptismal registers which we have interpolated by way of illustration.