Welcome to St Vincent de Paul Catholic Parish. Our Church is in Altenburg Gardens, off Lavender Hill in south Battersea, London SW11.
We are a Roman Catholic parish within the Archdiocese of Southwark, in the Wandsworth Deanery. Our Church opened in 1907. The Priest’s House, which includes our Parish Office, is at 36 Altenburg Gardens, next to the Church.
If you wish to see if you live in the area served by our parish, take a look at the map here.
Sunday Mass is the heart of Catholic parish life: we listen to the Word of God, join in Christ’s sacrifice for us, and receive the sacrament of His Body and Blood, we are nourished and challenged.
We celebrate three Sunday Masses every weekend each with its own character:
- on Sunday mornings at 9 o’clock, and at 11 o’clock
- and on Sunday evenings at 6 o’clock (except in the summer holidays).
We offer the only Sunday evening Mass in the Battersea area. But PLEASE NOTE we do not have a Saturday evening Vigil Mass.
Our parishioners come from many different backgrounds and countries, which makes quite a diverse parish. Some have been here for many years, but there is also quite a rapid turnaround of people whose work moves them on. We have a significant number of French parishioners, so an occasional Mass in French (in association with the French Parish of Notre Dame de France, Leicester Square) has also been celebrated on one or two Saturday evenings during the year.
There are lots of young children among our parishioners (the Battersea and Clapham areas are known for the number of younger families), and they often accompany their parents to the 11 o’clock Mass. On the third Sunday of each month in term-time the 11 o’clock Mass is usually a ‘Family Mass’ in which children play a particular part; on other Sundays in school term times there is usually a ‘Children’s Liturgy of the Word’ at this Mass. We do not have a parish school, but some of our children are educated at the Catholic Schools in three neighbouring parishes.
We also have a number of young adult parishioners, many of whom choose to join in the Sunday evening Mass.
We hope to welcome you personally and to get to know you: when you can, do introduce yourselves to me, after Mass. You can download our current newsletter from the Latest News page. Please also offer your talents to help build up the life of our community, and make suggestions if you wish. Lots more can happen here if you too are ready to share your faith and enthusiasm.
For as long as you reside in our parish area you belong here with us, for we share the precious gift of Catholic faith in Jesus Christ. You, and your family and friends, are very welcome.
Monsignor Timothy Galligan