St Benedict’s Parish of Newton-Auckland

In 1866, Bishop Pompallier blessed and opened the small wooden Church of St Francis de Sales in what was then East Street. This Church was to be used as a mortuary chapel in the Catholic cemetery, and served as an outpost of the Cathedral, to serve the large number of Catholics living in the Newton area.

This little chapel served the people of Newton for nearly twenty years. However as the population in the area grew, the need for a larger Church became more critical. In 1879, Benedictine monks from Ramsgate Abbey, in England, were given charge of the newly created parish of Newton…